In the Pixar movie Brave, the premise centers around a girl with fiery red hair named Princess Merida. She hated being a princess and wanted to spend her time in the woods exploring, riding her horse, and shooting her bow and arrow. The last thing on her mind was boys.
However, because she was a princess, her mother, the Queen, tried to push her to pick a suitor. In an attempt for Merida to find her own path, she fell into a curse that she attempted to undo by relying on her bravery.
Now, I may be alone here, but when I was younger, I never really remember wanting to be brave.
Pretty? Yes!
Special? Absolutely!
I thought brave was what boys wanted to be. Even when you search Scripture, most of the references about bravery had to do with battles and warriors.
As a young girl, when I thought about what it meant to be brave, I immediately thought of my dad, especially when I climbed into bed with he and my mom late at night because of those frightening monsters under my bed. Because of his bravery, I was safe.
When I first saw the preview for the movie Brave, I was intrigued by the concept. No Prince Charming fighting for the Princess?
Typically, when someone refers to Disney fairy princess movies around me, they’ll get a sigh and an eye roll. I grew up on those movies—those wonderful, magical tales of the girl who’s stumbling along and falls into the arms of a very handsome man who coincidentally is a prince.
Now maybe my cynicism can be attributed to 35+ years of singleness, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve sort of traded the fairy tale in for something else.
I don’t have a Prince Charming by my side to keep me safe, fight my battles, and whisk me off into happily ever after. What’s interesting about this is how God has shaped me into an independent, somewhat confident woman. Although most days I don’t feel it, He has taught me how to be brave.
I’ve made decisions and life changes that I never thought I’d be capable of on my own. I’ve survived many a heartache and picked myself up after a few hard battles, dusted myself off, and moved forward. My bravery doesn’t necessarily look like a man’s. That’s the beauty of how God created me as a woman.
There are still times when I wish I had a man by my side. I don’t know if that desire will ever go away. But in the meantime, I have my Heavenly Father—always fighting for me, always protecting me, and always loving me.
Trusting in Him is the bravest move I’ve ever made.
If you know someone who is struggling with their life not resembling a fairy tale, would you email them this post to encourage them?
