Confidence in happy endings

I'm in a weird place in my life right now. Things I can't explain, and when I try, pieces come out that don't really fit where I am. I know, that made a whole lot of not sense. I think the sum of it all is that while my life is in such a crazy state, I feel a sense of great peace over where it's all headed.

Tonight, I got together with a friend who is not a Christian, but I love him like a brother, and we have regular TV nights. We watched the movie, Serenity, and for those who haven't seen it, I'm going to ruin the ending, and I apologize for that, but I need to tell it to make my point. Basically, it ends with the good guys winning the battle, but there's still this unresolved war out there. They go on to fight the next battle, whatever it may be, but as a viewer, I don't know who wins in the end. That sort of ending doesn't satisfy me. I need to know that in the ultimate end, the good guys will prevail. My friend, who does not believe in God, felt this was the best possible ending- he would not have been satisfied with an ultimate ending of good winning, because he doesn't believe such things are possible. There will always be wars, and there is no such thing as a happy ending.

His words made me very sad- for him, and for others who do not believe in a loving God. You see, my friend is right. For him, there will be no happy ending unless he chooses to accept God's mercy and grace. I may struggle through this life, but my faith guarantees that ultimately, God and His goodness will prevail, and for all believers, there will be a happy ending. For eternity.

I sit here with this mixture of sorrow and joy- sorrow for those who choose not to believe in happy endings, and joy for the promise of a happy ending. I have to tell you, this is why I always write books with happy endings. Because even in the darkest hours, what gets me through is the promise that all God's people will live happily ever after.

I think God chose to remind me of this today because in many ways, I am in a dark place in my life right now. And, as much as I hate bringing this on myself, I think things will get darker before they get better. As I sat here thinking about some of this darkness, I checked my email, and while the emails had nothing to do with this place of darkness, they brought me light and even joy.

As I read these seemingly meaningless emails, I realized that as much as I feel alone right now, I am surrounded by some amazing people who love me and I love just as dearly. Things seem dark, but there are glimpses of light. No matter what happens with this or any other battle in my life, I have no doubt that there will be a happy ending. Somehow, this gives me the confidence and courage to push on.

I don't know what any of you are dealing with right now. Knowing some of the things in the lives of some of the people in my life, people who seem to have it all together, I know there's some pretty dark stuff out there. Whatever you're wading through, no matter how dark the battle seems, know that the war will eventually be won for good. Yes, I just spoiled the ending, but for me, knowing that ending makes it that much easier to keep fighting.