When You Feel Like Cinderella:

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“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” Ecclesiastes 11:1

A promise.  Thou shalt find it.  But in what shape, we aren’t told.  Will it come back as a big, fat duck that we helped feed, now ready for our dining room table?  Or just the same old bread, now soggy and sporting a fuzzy green growth?  Or worse yet, duck poo, smeared on a shoe?  (Sorry, I had to rhyme that!)

Well, it turns out none of this really matters.  The command is simple: cast thy bread.  Our toddler is really good at this, but I’m still learning.  Faithfulness is our job; results are God’s department. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean we should abandon wisdom, far from it, though sometimes it’s hard to tell where diligence ends and foolishness begins.  If you want to find out exactly where you sit on that continuum, click here for a free, five- minute quiz that will change your life!  Sorry, that was mean.  If only it were that easy, though!  It can feel like we’re wasting our resources on a fruitless endeavor, and sometimes that is actually the case!  Other times, we have no idea what an impact our quiet faithfulness is making on someone else’s life, and God wants us to just keep plugging away.

For the last year, I’ve been working toward becoming a published author, and I’ve had moments of discouragement.  I’ve had agents reject everything I send them.  I recently lost a contest I entered.  (Or at least, I didn’t win, though I haven’t received a loser plaque.)  But during the times I’ve felt most discouraged, God has often sent me ducks.  A new writer friend who gets it.  Encouraging feedback from readers.  (This is  not me begging for flattery, please hear me!  But to those of you who have given me genuine feedback, it’s meant a lot and come at times I was most discouraged!)  And so I keep throwing bread.  Not for more ducks, but because God hasn’t shown me that it’s time to quit. 

Is there someone you feel called to pray for, but nothing ever seems to change in their life?  Keep praying.  Is there a mountain you feel called to move, but it doesn’t seem to budge?  Keep pushing, or consider getting a bulldozer.  Are there mouths you’re called to feed, laundry you’re called to wash, or hearts you’re called to disciple?  Keep throwing your bread.  You might get a duck, and even if you don’t, remember: It’s not all for the birds, it’s for God.

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9 KJV

P.S.  If you’re interested in discovering an author who placed in the Cascade contest I entered, I highly recommend checking out Christin Hunt’s website and newsletter!  She’s a powerful writer who placed in both the picture book and the nonfiction categories, and she writes to encourage mothers through the difficult days (and nights) of diapers and other parenting drama.  You can learn more here.

Now, it’s story time!

In the winter, I also entered a local writing contest, and I thought I’d share my entry here, since it was never published.  (The contest was judged by a student, so I like to tell myself she probably just didn’t know a good story when she saw one!)  The challenge was to retell a fairytale.  I decided to rewrite Cinderella in rhyme, with a few of my own tweaks.  There was a 500 word limit on entries, so that meant parsing down the story to its core elements.  I hope it puts a smile on your face, even though it didn’t win! 😉

Ella

A long time ago, in a shabby old house, 

Lived Ella and Johnny, her magical mouse. 

They lived with her lazy old step mom and sister

Who made Ella work till her fingers were blistered. 

She wished to get married, and longed for the day

That a young man would love her and take her away. 

Then one day, a messenger came to invite

All the maidens to dance at the palace that night. 

“The prince wants a wife; he needs ladies to meet.

He enjoys a good treat, so please bring something sweet!”

From her scrubbing nearby, Ella felt her ears perk.

But her stepsister hissed, “Carry on with your work!”

Turning back to the door, she sneered, “Who needs a man?

We can manage quite nicely alone, yes we can!”

The messenger left, but inside Ella’s heart 

Was a glimmer of hope for a new life to start.

She hurried to finish her work for the day,

But her stepmother laughed.  “You’re going nowhere today!

We depend on you.  Now, make us something to eat!”

So she did, and besides that, a decadent treat

For the prince.  Then she tiptoed upstairs to get dressed, 

Where she styled her hair and she put on her best. 

Sneaking down for the treat she was planning to take,

She discovered the women inhaling her cake!

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Slipping quickly outside, so she wouldn’t be seen, 

Ella sobbed in the garden.  “They’re horribly mean!

They’ve destroyed my one chance to escape them at last!”

Then she heard a small voice at her feet.  “Not so fast!

I salvaged some cake crumbs that fell to the floor.

I can fix them up better than ever before!”

Johnny set the crumbs down and he gave them a pat.

With a POOF, the whole cake grew right back.  “Look at that!”

Ella dabbed at her tears.  “But we still need a ride.”

Johnny lifted his arm in the air.  “Step aside.”

He chuckled and watched as a tomcat approached,

And a flick of his wrist turned it into a coach. 

Johnny bowed.  “Get inside, or we’ll surely be late.

The prince needs to meet you, we can’t make him wait.”

With miraculous speed, they arrived at the ball.

Ella took a deep breath as she entered the hall.

The cake that she held made her shimmer like snow,

And she dazzled the prince with her radiant glow. 

He rushed to her side, as she beamed with delight,

And the two of them danced for the rest of the night. 

When the prince took a taste of the beautiful treat,

He said, “It’s like you, dear, delightfully sweet!”

At the palace that night, Ella won the man’s heart, 

And they knew they could never again be apart. 

When he asked her to spend her whole life by his side, 

Ella gladly agreed—she would soon be his bride!

And of course, little Johnny would live at their house, 

Where he hoped he could marry a sweet lady mouse.

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