Life Isn't Always A Cinderella Journey

When I was twelve years old I entered my first beauty pageant called Cinderella Girl.  How did a country girl like me get started in pageants?  And how would this one pageant start me on a journey that would lead me to where I am today?  Well, let me explain.

Every day after school I would rush off the bus and run into the house to watch some of my favorite shows like Scooby-Doo, Little House on the Prairie, and Daniel Boone. While watching one day, a commercial advertising a pageant called Cinderella Girl came across the screen.  It was a short commercial but it lasted long enough to catch my attention.

I caught myself drawing in closer to the TV.  I attentively watched and listened.  It was as though I had felt my spirit leap inside me.  I had no idea why it intrigued me.  I took a mental note and didn't think more about it until the same commercial came across the screen again.  I felt my spirit leap again, and for some odd reason, I was interested.   

At the end of the commercial, they gave a telephone number to call for more information.  I grabbed a notebook from my backpack and jotted down the number.    

I shared what I saw with my mother and handed her the phone number to call.  Hoping she would be as excited as I was, she looked at me  as she took the piece of notebook paper.  She later called the number.  One commercial, one phone call, and one leap in my spirit put me on a journey; the journey to discovering my calling.  

My parents agreed to let me enter the pageant.  We had no idea what to expect or where to start.  So together my mother and I got to work putting the pieces together.   

She enrolled me in a modeling school where I studied how to walk gracefully, speak with confidence, apply make-up, and develop my self-image.  It was like a charm school.  With lots of practice, and many hours of study, I worked daily to perfect my walk, and develop my confidence in hopes to do well in the pageant.

When pageant day came, I was ready.  I had put in the work.  My mother helped me choose the right outfits, and in my mind, I had envisioned winning the sparkly crown and title of Miss Cinderella Girl.  I will never forget the beautiful purple party dress my grandmother made by hand for me to wear.  It had lace around the collar and I had to wear a can-can to make it stand out.  Mother went out of her way to make sure I felt and looked like a princess. (Thank you, mom.)

There were only four girls in my division and I was nervous and excited. 

I received a fourth-place trophy in my first Cinderella pageant, even though I had put in a lot of work making sure I was fully prepared. Although I had envisioned winning the sparkly crown and beautiful sash that read Miss Cinderella, I knew I had given it my best effort, and for that I was proud.

In life, things will not always go the way you envision or expect, but it's your attitude and character that will carry you into your destiny.  Yes, I could have chosen to be discouraged and look at my "try" as a failure when they handed me that fourth-place trophy, which if you didn't catch it, was last place.  But instead, I looked at it as an opportunity to learn and do better next time.   

  

Life will not always go as you plan.  You will lose some and you will win some.  There will be setbacks and times of discouragement when all you want to do is throw in the towel. You will not always get your way, and the glass slipper will not always fit.  

Your destiny is a life-time journey where all roads lead to God's perfect plan and timing if you will only trust Him. God has a destiny for your life, and in His brilliance and perfect timing, He will put certain things in your life that will cause your spirit to leap. 

Keep dreaming Princess and don't be afraid to put in the hard work.  In due time, you will reap what you sow.  Refuse to give up.

It won't always be a Cinderella journey where things work out perfectly and everyone lives happily ever after, but it will be a journey that will lead you to the many blessings God has already planned out for you.  

Oh, and by the way, I finally won one.  
Wasn't the eighties fun. 



You Got This!

Lisa~Rural America Girl