Gasping, I looked down at my left hand. No wonder the ring felt so light. The diamond was missing! Forcing my eyes open, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. It had just been a bad dream. Still, I couldn’t resist checking the ring in my drawer to be sure. The diamond, intact, twinkled at me with full reassurance. 

But on the heels of the dream came a pervading sense of dread. It took me a minute to remember why I didn’t look forward to this new day. And this time I couldn’t shake off the memory as a bad dream. 

Recently my mother accepted the harsh reality of no longer being able to live on her own. As I researched assisted-living facilities for her, I grieved the loss of her independence. And I began to wonder if someday I would live out this same story with my own children. Will I too lose my independence? When will this be my reality? What will it look like for me? 

Full confession here: I like happy endings. It’s why I gravitate towards mystery dramas where the whodunnit is figured out by the end of the show. And somehow, in spite of the tragic death at the center of the story, everyone miraculously finds the way to closure and happiness. 

Not everyone in my household feels the same way. Their choice for TV centers around true crime shows or documentaries. They prefer the sometimes harsh reality accounts over what they see as sappy, unrealistic stories. 

I’m finding life more often resembles the true reality accounts than the cozy mysteries I love. It’s messy, and we don’t always get the idyllic, happy ending we crave. And certainly not in the time frame we’d like. But in times like these, I need to remind myself of this truth: We will get a happy ending. 

Jesus promised it to us:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:1-3 NIV)

Jesus doesn’t promise us a life without trouble (John 16:33), but He does promise we will one day live with Him in the place He is now preparing for us. Look at how the Apostle John describes this place: 

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4 NIV)

We are living in the middle of our story where we still feel the conflict and the pain. But the happy ending is coming. God Himself will wipe away our tears and we will live without mourning, crying, or pain.

Somehow it’s easy for me to forget this as I battle the daily trials of life. Yet when I embrace this truth, I understand what the Apostle Paul meant when he said:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14 NIV)

Every day, I need to do the next right thing. Today, it’s to narrow down the assisted-living options for my mother. Tomorrow it will be something else. But each right thing leads me closer to my happy ending.

Wherever the road of life leads us, I know along the journey we will encounter sadness and pain. May we choose to remember to press on toward our happy ending and the One who is preparing it for us.