Fairy Tale Not

Once upon a time a small girl lost her way in a dark forest ruled by an evil ogre, who captured the girl and shackled her with strong chains. The ogre often came by to amuse himself by frightening her, until the girl grew accustomed to him and to living in darkness and terror. And when she grew to be a maiden the ogre made her fully his.

Many years passed, and the young woman sometimes wondered if dreams of a loving papa and beautiful little girl in a sparkling city might be memories. But she once caught her reflection of dirty face and matted hair in a rain puddle, and saw her tattered rags and thought of her life with the ogre, and knew her dreams could not be real.

One day a woodcutter arrived in the forest. He offered her fresh water and fed her with warm bread and asked if she wished to someday follow him to the city. She feared the plain stranger and refused him, but he returned every day with food and the same offer.

When the ogre next came by, he found her well fed and raged against the woodcutter, warning her that the strange man sought to capture her so he might shame her filth and ugliness if she went to the city. The woodcutter returned the next day, and the ogre screamed that he could not have the girl for she belonged to the forest and to himself.

The woodcutter drew a sword and a key, bargaining his life for hers with the ogre, promising the girl he would one day return and marry her if she chose to be free. The ogre received the sword with a laugh and slew the woodcutter. The girl took the bloody key from the woodcutter’s hand, while the ogre ridiculed her dead hero and any thought of being a bride.

The girl long wept for the woodcutter, until one day she drew the key and unshackled herself. The ogre appeared at once and his taunts prevented her running away from him. But each night thereafter she dreamt of the woodcutter, who stood in clothes of gleaming white and spoke kindly to her and told her of secret treasures He’d hidden for her in the forest.

The girl began to venture farther and farther away from her chains, discovering beautiful garments and perfumes and jewelry and a rushing waterfall in which to bathe. The ogre never went away or ceased to torment her, but he no longer touched her and she came to stop fearing him. In her dreams the woodcutter had become a prince, assuring her that he lived to return for her, and she believed him and dwelt with joy even in the dark forest.

Then one day the living woodcutter become prince was crowned king, and he came for her on a white horse. She did not know that she radiated beauty in her joy and cleanliness and white garments, for she'd never quite stopped thinking of herself as a dirty little girl with matted hair in rags defiled by an ogre.

But her beloved woodcutter had always seen her as she would be this day, and had loved her from the beginning.

And they lived happily ever after.

~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~

"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
~ Revelation 19:7-8 (NKJV)

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True ... And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
~ Revelation 19:11,16 (NKJV)

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Copyright 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: truthinlove.com.au

Fishing

"True friends don't spend time gazing into each other's eyes.

... they face in the same direction—

toward common projects, interests, goals—

above all, toward a common Lord."
~ C.S. Lewis

Fishing can be a good business—and dangerous business. Consider this true story.

Jack got into the fishing business, and was a phenomenal success. He was a natural around water, and had a God-given gift for knowing what the fish would bite on and bringing them in.

Jack helped his younger cousin Josh break into the business, and Josh did even better at it than Jack—though both bachelors poured everything back into fishing and lived little better than vagrants. Jack was an orphan and Josh was somewhat of a family outcast. Although the two didn't spend a great deal of time together, a strong bond existed between them. In matters of the soul, they had only each other.

Jack's small business showed up his big business competitors, and they didn't take it kindly. Their friend Conlan happened to be a judge connected to the organized crime which had infiltrated local officials. It became known to Conlan that Jack made some unflattering remarks about him. Jack soon found himself arrested on false charges, and wound up getting killed while he was in jail.

The death devastated Josh. He took a day off work when he heard about Jack. But his demanding business wouldn't wait. He found himself called back on the job before the day was out—his grief pushed aside.

The same mob people involved in Jack's death also took a strong dislike to Josh. He soon found himself dodging the local officials. He tried to warn his coworkers, but they didn't grasp the seriousness of the situation, not even when they saw Josh narrowly sidestep attempted hits on his life.

In the end, the mob got to Josh by paying off one of the coworkers he considered a friend. When thugs came after him, Josh protected his frightened coworkers by surrendering, alone, without a fight. He didn't die quickly like Jack had, but was tortured by the mob pretty gruesomely before they finally killed him.

Jack and Josh both lived hard lonely lives, and both died alone. But before they left this world, they both managed to inspire the men they worked with to excel as fishermen—or fishers of men.

Of course, Jack was better known as John—John the Baptist. And Josh is known as either Yeshua or Jesus in the 21st century. Colan means "hero," as does the name Herod. He was indeed a hero of the rich and powerful, who to this day oppose Josh and His fishing business.

Whether or not one makes fishing for men a full time occupation, life can be incredibly dangerous, lonely, or fraught with distress. Jesus warns us to expect hardships, and He understands them, because He experienced them on a magnitude we'll never know.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
~ John 15:15 (NKJV)

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are our Friend. Thank You that we never face hardship alone.

Your feedback is appreciated. Post to BuildingHisBody.com Comments or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2010, 2008 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: norskfolke.museum.no