“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”― Neil Gaiman
Fairy tales exist alongside hopes and dreams in our minds. Like parables in the Bible, many fairy tales are stories that make a point, sometimes about good defeating evil, but also about innocence and honesty winning out over guile and cheating.
As we grow older the wonder that we found in fairy tales might be replaced by our hopes and dreams. For some, the fairy tales just dim and become memories, replaced by cynicism. That cynicism becomes their new dragon, and they might find it hard to defeat.
Perhaps that is because they are reading the wrong book now. The fairy tales that were read to us or that we read as children from books fade once those books are put away. Instead of books of fairy tales, we may watch the news or read the newspapers. Perhaps we still read books, but they are now lengthy and complex stories, either true or made up. In either case they are usually set in the real world and many times have unhappy endings.
There is a book that one can read that still carries a message of hope and a happy ending – the Bible. The Bible tells the story of the biggest defeat of a dragon of all time – the defeat of death. One can argue about the historical accuracy of events that are chronicled in the Bible, but that is not the point of it. The Bible tells us stories meant to help us understand and accept God and the gift of eternal life that He had given us.
The dragon of death will never go away, but it also will not defeat us. Death is but one dragon that we might face in our lives. There are dragons of hopelessness or maybe dependency and feeling helpless. Sometimes the dragon tries to imprison us in a dungeon of despair. Whatever your dragon, just imagine yourself standing there in a full suit of armor ready to do battle. Where will you get the armor? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6 –
“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Just ask God for his help and then imagine suiting up in God’s armor – nothing can touch you, not even death.
So, suit up and go out and slay your dragons. Put on God’s armor and nothing can defeat you.
NormsMilfordBlog 
Thereâs a lot of truth in fairy tales. Theyâre almost like parables. It would be interesting to find what parable and what fairy tale go together. If I were still âin thwe businessâ I might do that some Sunday.