The Day After the Story Ends

There’s something in us that always wants to jump to the end of the story.

I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise if you really think about it. After all, there’s also something in us that always wants to know that things will work out in the end.

In the midst of pain, discouragement, fear, anxiety, and sorrow, we especially want to know that dark storms will give way to bright mornings.

Deep down, don’t we really know that the sun – literally and figuratively – always rises after the night? Sure, some metaphorical nights may last for many years before dissipating. But don’t we really know that they will eventually end?

I think we do. But how easy it is to forget.

I’ve always liked the phrase “happily ever after.” It harmonizes beautifully with our innate desire to resolve our own problems and to always be happy. It reminds us that all of the bad parts of life will one day be gone.  We will have our storybook ride into the sunset.

But what about the next day?

What happens when the sunset fully descends behind the singing hills and then rises again the next day? What does the first day of “ever after” look like?

I suppose that libraries would only begin to form the introduction to such an answer. But I offer one thought here.

It seems to me that living “happily ever after” does not mean that life’s troubles are gone. Ask any college graduate, newlywed, or hired executive and I have a feeling (because I am 0/3 in these areas) that they would give a similar answer.

Until this life is over, there will always be difficult days and worrisome nights. So is there even a “happily ever after” at all?

I believe that there really is such a thing. But I don’t believe there is such a thing as being happy every single moment on this earthly journey. The difference, I suggest, is in knowing that happiness will always follow sadness.

Even though days after the ride into the joyous sunset may seem unbearable, there will always be the memory of what led to that joyous ride.

The prince and princess of a fairytale will have their happily ever after because they learned that happiness waited for them after the witch was slain.

The new graduate will have her happily ever after because she remembers that happiness waited for her after her years of dedicated study.

Brand new parents will have their happily ever after because they remember that happiness waited for them after their financial struggles and intense labor.

What awaits you in the next chapter of life? What lessons will you look back on to help you through it?

Everyone has moments to look back on with gratitude and moments to look forward to with hope. Perhaps the great secret of fairytale endings is not that there is no sunset to ride into.

It’s that there is more than one.