by Leslie Ludy
In my book Authentic Beauty, I wrote about the time in my life when I finally discovered the fulfillment of all my romantic childhood hopes and longings; when I finally found the prince I had always dreamed of to carry me away to his castle and cherish me forever. Since many of my readers knew about my love story with Eric, they at first assumed that when I spoke of my “prince”, I was talking about him. But as I explained in Authentic Beauty:
My true Prince is not Eric. My true Prince is Jesus Christ. Eric, with all his amazing qualities, could never meet the deepest needs inside my heart the way my true Prince has. If not for the tender love of my true Prince, my love story with Eric would not have even been possible. The romance of my love story with Eric is only a faded glimmer of the spectacular beauty of the love story I share with my Jesus Christ. In fact, my childhood longing to be loved and cherished by a tender knight that I could follow to the ends of the earth was placed in my heart by Him. Jesus Christ alone can fulfill that desperate longing.
Jesus Christ was not merely a stand-in until Eric came along. Jesus was, and still is, my true Prince, my ultimate Bridegroom, and my all in all. Yes, Eric does bring wonderful joy and fulfillment into my life. But my love story with him could never compare to my love story with the King of all kings. Jesus Christ is the One that ultimately satisfies the deepest needs and desires of my heart. Jesus Christ is the One I lean upon for fulfillment, strength and security.
I have no guarantee that Eric will always be around – God may call him home before me. And though he is an amazing husband, there will always be moments when he fails – when he falls short of being the sensitive, devoted, picture-perfect prince of my childhood fairy tales. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He knows my heart better than even I do – because He created me. He will never fail me. He will never disappoint me. And He will always be the most perfect Prince my feminine heart could ever crave. Singleness is an incredible opportunity to be fully consecrated in body and spirit to Jesus Christ alone – to be undistracted by any other romance and free to be consumed with Him alone. (see 1 Cor. 7:34) This is not only an amazing opportunity for our single years, but it is the absolute best way we could ever prepare for marriage. When Jesus Christ is our all in all, we will never place unhealthy pressure upon our spouse to meet the needs only He can fill. And if our husband is ever taken from us, we will not lose our confidence, hope or security – because it’s in Jesus Christ.
