The Purity and Clarity of a Glass Slipper by Jessica Nichols

The Purity and Clarity of a Glass Slipper                                    Jessica Nichols, 2014

“ONCE UPON A TIME”... ahhhh, wonderful words for every little girls heart because at the END of the story is her Knight in Shining Armor to take her away, to love her endlessly, and to make

ALL her dreams come true. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Well I suppose this is why they’re called ‘fables’ or ‘fairy tales’. The fact is, LIFE IS HARD, and we EACH need someone to help deliver us from the realities of our sometimes broken and bleeding lives… here’s just one take on that!

Cinderella… when I think of Cinderella, I can get all warm inside. Not because she overcame all that happened to her, but in MY mind… I AM CINDERELLA! I can be the princess, the one He chooses, the one that is wanted above all others. I can be the one

HE looks at from across the room and when our eyes meet, sparks fly!  And then?

THEN IT HAPPENS! My heart is touched by the response of His true love and as yet, not even one word has been spoken. There’s absolutely NOTHING I need to do to get

His attention, because I know I already HAVE His attention. He sees only me, He wants only me, and He pursues only me.

And my dress? Well, my dress is SO full that when I walk towards Him I can hear it’s rustling in rhythm and rhyme to His heartbeat for me. For tonight, I am the prettiest, the brightest, the smartest, funniest, I am to be chosen by the Prince. But wait, I know things about myself that He does not yet know. So, do I run away, as not to infect HIM with the truth of MY reality? OH NO….I stay and bear witness to what I ALLOW myself to believe… I AM CINDERELLA! But then, there are those glass slippers, the ones that represent absolute truth and the purity of clarity, as much clarity as is within them, PERFECT clarity. So, I try, and I try to fit my feet into those glass slippers, and oh, HOW I WANT THEM TO FIT! They are lovely, adorned with the sparkles that only the purest love can expose. And rainbows, so many rainbows of color bouncing off of them and splashing all around the room when the light of His love reveals their beauty. But today, there is a problem… my feet are swollen, and not from dancing the night before. They are swollen with the jealousy, hurt, bitterness and anger that now weighs heavy in my heart, all the things that make me more like the stepsister than Cinderella.

UH-OH… now my heart is pounding with the TRUTH and begs the question… I’m NOT Cinderella???? Now I hear myself screaming, I’M NOT CINDERELLAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! In fact, I’m NOTHING like her! She is the one who forgives; I am the one who holds a grudge. She is the one who’s angelic; I am the one who is wicked. She mixes compassion with everything she touches; I am the one who’s merciless and heartless. OH WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO???

Do I continue in my dream, my own personal fairy tale, or do I face my reality and ask forgiveness of the Prince who now knows all about the deep darkness of my illegitimate desire to be Cinderella? Truth be known, I always knew I was more like the stepsister than Cinderella all the time, like a bad nightmare never letting me forget! It was SO much easier to believe a fantasy than face a reality caused by my own sin and choices. So, now knowing what I know about myself, facing the terrible swollen-ness of my poor pitiful life, I cry——— I cry out———I cry out for help! And there He is, answering my cry, my beloved Prince Jesus, answering me with the testimony of His ‘better than prince charming’ love! He declares He knew about me the whole time and yet His love never faltered or failed. Now broken and wounded by the reality and shame of my own swollen sin, Jesus rushes in and brings healing to my once pitiful life and tells me I will forever be His. Now THIS is love… the kind of forgiving love that EVERY child of humanity desires. It’s better than a fairytale any day! So now when the ‘swollenness of sin’ tries to break into the reality of my forgiven life, I simply put on the truth and clarity of a glass slipper that says I am His and He is mine. I recognize that He chose me long before I chose Him. I realize that a once broken and bleeding life has now been resurrected by THE Resurrection and THE Life. I no longer have a desire to be Cinderella, but rather to be all that Jesus has for me… which is to be His forever

and ever, all due to the purity and clarity of a glass slipper.

THE END