happily ever after...

I read Karen Kingsbury's newest book today, "The Chance." I've read all of her books and continue to be captivated by her stories... scooped up and drawn into the characters' lives. Sometimes I've wondered whether the stories are too perfect. Don't get me wrong, there's heartache... tears, dying, tragedies... but it always seems like there's a "happily ever after" ending. I'm guessing that's probably a requirement in Christian fiction test polls, but I'm not sure how much of it is real life. Or maybe it's just not wrapped into neatly packaged stories. Our happily ever afters don't always come when we want them.

*SPOILER ALERT* Stop here if you're a die hard Kingsbury reader who hasn't read the book yet... I might give away too much... even if I think you could guess the ending. 

I don't want to give away all the sappy details... because I think the story is worth reading, (obviously if I read all 320 pages in a few hours today) but the story centers around a girl... Ellie. It begins when she's 15 and being whisked away from everything she knows including her best friend, a guy who says he's going to marry her when they grow up. They bury some letters and agree to meet back in 11 years to dig them up just in case they lose touch. Things don't go exactly according to plan, but nevertheless, the guy never stops searching for her and they eventually reunite 11 years later. 

I have dated my fair share of guys and for one reason or another, the relationships haven't worked out. Sometimes we tried again... and again. Sometimes I couldn't run far enough away and sometimes I kept hoping we could give it another try. Occasionally you find one you would wait 11 years for... and sometimes God answers the prayer like Kingsbury's book and there's a happily ever after reunion. But sometimes, God answers the prayer another way... with a different kind of happily ever after. 

I didn't get my happily ever after today, but I feel like I got my answer to a six year prayer. I don't know what my "happily ever after" will look like, but tonight I'm thankful for answers. I am thankful God knows better than I do and I'm thankful for stories that bring hope in the waiting.