It’s been over a year since I started “The Sleeping Beloved” series, and about nine months since I ended it in September (and over six since I last blogged….goodness time flew by fast!). The past nine months have been the most eventful months of my life. Not only did I Read more…
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.” So the LORD God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found as his complement. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. Then the LORD God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ’woman,’ for she was taken from man.” ~ Genesis 2:18-23
I wanted to end my Sleeping Beloved saga where we began. It was a cyclical journey, after all…
Again, this post contains spoilers of Disney’s 2014 Maleficent.
Like in the animated film, the three good fairies raise Aurora as a peasant girl. Although well-meaning, they’re a rather incompetent bunch. They have no idea how to care for a baby, and the poor thing is constantly crying because of their neglect.
Even Maleficent cannot withstand the heart-wrenching cries of a babe in true distress…
It’s written in our hearts to long for a Warrior-Lover. We long to be worth fighting for, to be worth the struggle. It’s also written in our hearts to be a warrior-lover for someone else – to fight passionately for our beloved, no matter the cost. We want to be both the beloved and the warrior-lover, and in God’s story, we get to be. He is our Warrior-Lover, who saw us as worth fighting for, even unto death. Likewise, after experiencing such lavish love, we are called to be warrior-lovers to those around us – to show them the same love shown to us.
And yet, we don’t always feel like we have a Warrior-Lover, and often we fail to be warrior-lovers ourselves…
We are finally within the last hundred years! The Walt Disney 1959 animated version of Sleeping Beauty is a timeless classic, giving a fresh voice to the Sleeping Beloved characters. Disney masterfully crafted the fairy tale into something unique; and yet, the story remained true to its nature…
So ends the “original” tale of Sleeping Beauty: the enemy is vanquished and all are allowed to live in peace and contentment.
I love how in both the Sleeping Beauty story and Revelation, the victory comes suddenly, almost unexpectedly, and in the nick of time. The fear of the young queen and her children is palpable – “minions” are about to throw them into a vat of vile creatures. The “beloved city” is under siege from the forces of darkness. There is no escaping their fate…
The triumphal entry has occurred…and so Sleeping Beauty lives happily ever after, right? Nope. There’s still the ogress mother-in-law to deal with. There’s still one more enemy left to fight.
This portion of Perrault’s tale mirrors Talia’s story…
I love the image of our Sleeping Beauty claiming her rightful place beside her bridegroom. I imagine her entering with joyful tears in her eyes. After all this time, she is finally going to be united with her true love. This, this is what she has been waiting for…and I can’t help but think that it is so much sweeter because of the wait.
As I say that, I’m acutely aware of how painful the waiting can be. For while we wait, we must grapple with the possibility that what we hope for may not come true…
This is where the story gets a little strange. The first half of Perrault’s version is our “standard” Sleeping Beauty tale…but this? This seems more in line with Shrek than any “standard” fairy tale. I mean, the prince is half ogre! Unlike our loveable Shrek, however, ogres in the 17th century were children-eating creatures (although somehow our prince manages to escape those cravings…the text says nothing about him being an ogre or wanting to eat his own children. He’s the quintessential “good guy”).
Yes, our prince has much to worry about, and he is right to tarry in the claiming of his bride…
The Beloved recognizes her Savior.
Now, there are some key differences. Most importantly, the prince seemingly happens upon the Sleeping Beloved, whereas Jesus actively seeks us out. He actively seeks to awaken our hearts…