It's no secret that I am a sucker for fairy tales.

My favorite fairy tale of all times is Cinderella. When I saw the movie for the first time and Cinderella sang, "If you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true," I was hooked. My office is chock-full of Cinderella memorabilia, our wedding was Cinderella-themed and, yes, I still wait in line to see my favorite princess at Disney World.

For Christmas a few years ago, my dad gave me a hand-crafted leather Bible cover with Cinderella on the front. It was made just for me by an inmate at the State Penitentiary (that's another story for another post). As much as I love Cinderella, though, I have to say that I was kind of disappointed when I saw that my husband, mom and sister also got Bible covers, but ones decorated with beautiful crosses and Bible verses. In comparison, I thought my Bible cover looked superficial.

But then I found this verse: "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12)

Well, isn't that just the perfect verse for Cinderella? Her whole life was a trial. She lost her mother without ever knowing her. Then her father died. Then she endured jeering, teasing, and undeserved punishment by her "evil" step-mother and step-sisters. Even her one magical night ended in despair, followed by her step-sisters trying to steal her true love!

She was called Cinderella because -- and the Disney version leaves this part out -- she tended the fire, slept among the cinders, and was covered in ashes. Only the poorest of poor, the lowest of low, tended the cinders. She was unloved, disliked, excluded, dirty, and undesirable.

But, as Steven Curtis Chapman sings: 

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise 
For we know, joy is coming in the morning... 
In the morning, beauty will rise

Yes, despite her hardship, Cinderella faced it all with a smile and a song. And in the end, she got the prince, a tiara and the happily-ever-after we all imagine.

Thinking about Cinderella in this way really made me consider my Bible cover differently. I realized that this fairy tale is not about romance. It’s about love and redemption. It’s about struggling and being rescued from a horrible life by the prince. Not Prince Charming but the Prince of Peace. 

We are all children of the Most High King. We are enslaved by our sin. But God loves us. And one day, the Prince of Peace will come and take us home to our castle in the sky.

That’s even better than a fairy godmother, glass slipper and a crystal coach! 

In which fairy tale story can you see a gospel message? How would you live differently if you realized you're the King's daughter, a princess? Have you ever felt like an undesirable outcast and then someone loved you?

Kristy Rose is a Gen X homeschooling mom who sells Avon to support her writing habit. In 2006, God transplanted her to North Dakota. Moving to the state her great-grandparents homesteaded in 1903 and the ensuing adventures on the prairie have deepened her faith and given her a heart-felt understanding of God's amazing mercy and grace. You can get her take on pretty much everything at throughrosecoloredglasses.weebly.com. Read more JOY Blog posts by Kristy.