Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Hear / Here (01/26/23)
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TITLE: The Past and the Present | Previous Challenge Entry
By Philippa Geaney
02/02/23 -
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Cinderella.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
'There is nothing Cinderella-ish about my life.
'Well, not in the fairy godmother, pumpkin coach, type of thing.
But who here today cannot recognize a note or a haunting melody that we still hear in our hearts – stirring the remembrance of a tale that turned fluffy slip-ons or little girl gum boots into glass slippers?'
I smiled from the podium, hoping the testimony these women were about to hear from me would make sense.
I plowed on. 'Cinderella, the story we mostly all know, was written by a french man named Charles Perrault in 1697 and was initially named Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verretranslated Cinderella Or the Little Glass Slipper.
'But now we are grown, and we know a story when we hear one; let's face it, we live in the real world.
'So why does that youthful melody still linger?' I tapped my chest. 'A heart's desire wanting us to believe that we too can be singled out, chosen to dance with the Prince?
My testimony is that we have a truth far greater than any fairy tale we'll ever hear. A truth that says we are loved by the Prince of all Princes.'
I silently prayed that my words would strike a familiar chord amongst these women gathered for the annual Glow Conference. I loved them.
But for many years, that had not been so – the love - that is.
'It turns out that I had never particularly liked women. As a born-again woman, the Saviour, the real Prince of Peace, had made His home here in me.' I tapped my belly.
'Our love was sweet. Deeply fulfilling for me, but in some aspects, it was very one-sided. Especially when it came to love for other women.
'My desire and agreement were yes, but my ability was not.
'I'd repent, apologize, then fake it.' I lifted my shoulders towards the audience in a shrug of admission. 'To use the analogy of Cinderella, I frequently knelt in the ashes of yet one more failure to love - scrubbing my soul in repentance and asking the Lord why.
'He answered me through a messenger, a woman at that!
'She may never know the impact of her message- it was via Youtube. How very fairytale is that?' '"My husband,"' she said, '" had volunteered me to speak to a church full of women. I objected, arguing loudly with him until he left the room, and then I continued the argument with the Lord about its impossibility. Lord, the woman said, I don't even like women!"'
'The Lord used three words, answering this woman and, in turn, me. “ But I do,”He said."'
A two-edged sword, and the argument ended here for us both.
With just one word, the Lover of our souls has given us the power to love what He loves.
'Funnily enough, for those who don't know me, my name is officially Ella. Although I'm always called El.' I paused for a moment hoping the irony of my name and my testimony registered.
I went on. 'Here is where the analogy of childish delight in the fairy tale ends, and reality, more wonderful than any story, continues.
'Many of you here have your own wonderous moment when the Prince of Heaven specifically chose you,' I pointed in a way that would signify individuality and then continued. 'He offered you His bride price, His heart, and faithfulness. And you accepted. It was a perfect fit.
That's why I chose to speak here of a Cinderella tale. It resonates so deeply in my heart.
'I don't think this wonder is exclusive to females only. There aren't many men here today, so we don't especially know of the influence stories had on a boy's heart, but I imagine their relationship with Jesus is not unlike the story, a real one in this instance, of the relationship between Johnathan and David.
One of love, friendship, and deep commitment. A bond. Mates forever.
'In closing, I would like to express heartfelt love toward you, calling you sisters and giving the Lord, who is here with us, all the glory for transforming this heart.'
Heb 4:12 KJV
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