Okay, I'll C&P it. I thought it was public for everyone to see...
YouTube - Cinderella Part 5
I was watching Cinderella on youtube today. I got to part 5 and I had to do a double-take. I love the look of Cinderella's face when the Fairy Godmother says the first thing she needs is a pumpkin. It's like, "Say what?" God was saying a lot to me when I was watching this video.
I think we have all been as broken-hearted as Cinderella at one point through our relationships, finances, disasters, etc. In these times, we break down and lose faith. But what little faith we have allows God to move in our lives. It allows him to show up just when we need him.
I believe this video demonstrates much of our experience in these times. God provides a pumpkin, mice, a lazy dog, and an old horse.
God almost never answers our prayers in the way we expect. When we begin to see these things come together in our lives, it can be quite confusing at first. However, those of us who have faith, marvel at the unfolding work of the Lord.
There is a similar situation in the Bible. One of many, actually... God told Abraham that he was going to be the father of many nations. However, Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were very old, past child-bearing age. Abraham and Sarah could only see their current circumstances. The only thing left for them was to summon Hagar, Sarah's slave girl, to be a surrogate. Now, this isn't so strange for the culture of the day but I imagine Sarah must have still been broken-hearted.
However, God had something totally different in mind. God doesn't look at circumstances. He is able to transform the environment around us, according to His will and if we let Him. We see God using Pumpkins but He doesn't see pumpkins, he sees carriages. He doesn't see a post-menopausal lady. He sees a fertile woman, the mother of nations.
Also, the things we expect God to use aren't always what God uses. The Fairy Godmother turns the mice into stallions but there was already a horse there. Surely, she would've used the horse first before the mice? Back to Abraham and Sarah, it would have been perfectly acceptable in the culture of the time for Sarah to raise Hagar's child as her own. The promise from God would be considered fulfilled. Abraham and Sarah would legally have a child together. However, God wanted Abraham's and Sarah's child to be loved by Sarah, not just raised by her. (Don't worry, Hagar and the child were taken care of!)
The Fairy Godmother wanted stallions who would get Cinderella to the castle quickly and mice are quick. The horse, by appearance, looked old and tired. However, since he IS a horse, he would make a perfect driver.
Next, why does the Fairy Godmother give Cinderella a curfew? Ecclesiastes 3 says that there is a time for everything. There is a time to dance and a time to mourn. Everything has a season. If we could, we would all find our way to the bliss of the ballroom and stay there forever. But we can't be there forever. Nothing would get done. I don't mean to say that we can only have a little fun and then back to work. God forbid! No. Whatever adventure we're on now, there will always be a greater one ahead. We can't be stuck in the comfort of the present.
One last thing and that's the cat. The cat's name is Lucifer. When I heard that, I began to think that Disney (back in the day) really knew what this story was about. Lucifer has one of the mice trapped in a bowl. However, the Fairy Godmother transforms him into a beautiful stallion. The stallion neighs loudly and the cat runs off, fur a flying! What can be learned here? When you come into contact with the supernatural transforming power of God, Lucifer has no choice but to turn tail and run for the hills.
