Where Is My Prince Charming?

Thanks to Hollywood movies, cartoons, and romance novels women grow up with an expectation that they will be rescued by Prince Charming. Elizabeth wrote us about her disappointment that her husband was not her knight in shining armor, yet her need for one was very real.

Unrealistic Desires

Every woman has a desire for the Cinderella theory, but then they learn to accept that it is just a fantasy. They decide that their desire is unrealistic and must be buried and forgotten.

The Problem Isn’t The Dream

But when they bury the dream, they bury their heart with it. And a life that once seemed promising, rosy and bright, now becomes routine and gray.

You see, the problem isn’t with the dream. The problem is that we have allowed ourselves to constantly put the wrong Prince into the storyline.

My Prince Is Out There

My longing for a perfect Prince in a perfect kingdom is not a fantasy at all – it is very, very real. And my heart knows that, and it will not be fooled. My mind tries to suppress that dream, but my heart knows better. It knows my Prince is out there.

He Wanted To Free Me

And He is so crazy about me that, just like in the fairy tale, He thought I was worth fighting the enemy for. And after being beaten, despised and mocked, He chose to die for me. He wanted to free me from my enemy, and give me a new, abundant life.  

He’s the One Who is also returning to rescue me someday – on His white horse no less – to take me as His bride, to His Kingdom, to live happily ever after.

Now that sounds really close to the fairy tale I grew up on.

There Wouldn’t Be This Obsession

But here is what we have done. We have taken those expectations and transferred them from the One Who can live up to them to someone who can’t. We take our heavenly longing and try to pacify it with an earthly response.

It’s Impossible

We look for fulfillment from a man instead of Christ Himself. And it’s impossible. And we do it more than we know, because if we didn’t, there wouldn’t be this obsession especially within the Christian community, to change men in order to make their wives happy.

Desiring A Perfect Prince Is OK

You see, women need to know that their desire for the perfect Prince is okay, because I’m telling you, it never ever goes away. Even if you are going good for months at a time, it will hit you for no reason, and at any time – doing the dishes, wiping a child’s runny nose, grocery shopping.

God’s Word Is So Powerful

I have spoken on this at greater lengths at women’s conferences, and I’m telling you, at the end you could hear a pin drop. Not because of anything particularly clever about my delivery, but because the truth of God’s Word is so powerful! Women come up sobbing, unable to believe what they have missed! 

Keep Her Eyes On The Right One

A woman’s heart will always cry out for the knight in shining armor, and she has to know it is okay, but she has to know to keep her eyes on the right One! If she tries to make her husband live up to it, she will always be disappointed. But if she tries to suppress it and deny it, she suppresses her very own heart.

~ Elizabeth

God created us male and female. Not wrong, just different. In Ephesians 5:33 He commanded men to love their wives because it is not in their nature to do so. Just like He commanded women to respect their husbands. That is not in their nature to do so. It isn’t logical to assume that any human being can do these things perfectly.

I value Elizabeth’s story because she recognizes the One who can meet our needs when our spouse isn’t. She realizes that only Jesus Christ can fill the void and not disappoint us.

Our prayer is that you too will take your eyes off of your spouse and put them on the One who is capable of rescuing you.

~Emerson