On our wedding day, I start to come down the aisle to a Kenny Loggins’ song and David is up at the front shaking hands with people thanking them for coming.

Hey, BRIDE entering the room!

It’s not what I expected in my happily-ever-after tale. But sometimes there is a slight hitch in our giddy-up. Our happily-ever-after tales can include bumps in the road.

That was the case with Esther. Here she was on the way to the palace of the king, and she finds that she must compete with HUNDREDS of other women to become his wife. (Think The Bachelorette times 50!)

I’d say there was a slight hitch in her giddy-up. But GOD’S FAVOR was on this woman, and because God is for her she WINS the king’s heart.

I’m sure this little orphan Jewish girl, growing up in a non-Jewish society, and suddenly becoming queen, feels like singing, “How do you like me now?!”

Still, she experiences other bumps in the road. Some pretty big ones, in fact. She ultimately has to risk her own life in the presence of her husband to save the lives of the Hebrew people.

Yes, God gives us happily-ever-after moments, but it does not mean that huge challenges won’t come into our lives.

Every Bible story, every fairy tale, every life has its problems. God does not promise us a HITCH-FREE LIFE. He promises us that HE WILL BE WITH US through all that we face.

“Be determined and confident. Do not be afraid of them. Your God, the Lord himself, will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6