"Cinderella": A Picture of Us

As I said in an earlier post, fairytales are stories depicting a bigger picture, all we have to do is look closely with open eyes to find the analogies. In Cinderella, we can all guess who Cinderella represents. She symbolizes us, with all the obstacles we come across in life, and the stepmother and stepsisters represent our antagonists and trials during our life here on earth. The prince, the supposed "savior" from all Cinderella's hardships, I believe represents God, who is seeking mankind to follow Him.

I like to think of this fairytale as more or less parallel to our lives. At the beginning of the story, Cinderella lives a hard life, seemingly alone while her stepmother and stepsisters burden her with troubles and hardships, and Cinderella struggles to maintain a positive attitude through it all. She has her animal friends, but they can only do so much to help her. In the same way, we are born into a world where there are many antagonists, hardships, and obstacles and we are weighed down by the sin and imperfection that exists here.

In the midst of her troubles, Cinderella is given a hope of something more than the life she is leading. The Prince is inviting all eligible ladies to a ball at which he will choose a bride. Cinderella's stepmother and sisters seem as though they will surely catch the Prince's eye, as they appear so perfect and decked out in their ball gowns. Cinderella is eager to attend the ball, but she is given by her stepmother a whole list of things she must do first in order to be allowed to attend. She feels hopeless, and it seems she will never get to go. But then Cinderella's godmother comes along and shows her that she can go the ball without a bunch of restrictions. Her godmother helps her along and Cinderella attends the ball. She meets the Prince, and the two fall in love. After a wonderful night, Cinderella returns home, fearing what her stepmother would do if she found out Cinderella was at the ball. But the Prince continues to seek her out, and she is reunited with him once more, now to be his bride.

Much like Cinderella, we are also given a glimpse of something greater. God invites us to follow him, and his invitation is found in the Bible. He has given us a whole list of things that he has done so we can be with him. We all are eager for something greater, but at times it seems most difficult to achieve it. Others may appear to have it all together, and the world has provided us with lists of things we must do in order to get to Heaven. We often get bogged down by these "rules" and feel as if we may never find our way. We commit ourselves to being God's followers, and even become close to God, but in many cases, the things of this world get back to us and we are afraid of what our peers and other people will think. So we resume our old lives, while still hoping God loves us. However, God is always seeking us, and wants us to join him in Heaven someday, so we must not lose heart--he wants you, and he will always be ready for you.