Now that we have a daughter, we are slowly getting exposed to more girly movies. I’ve seen a couple of the Disney Tinkerbell movies now (Tinkerbell and Tinkerbell and The Lost Treasure), and there’s something that’s been nagging at me.

As I watch these movies and compare them to the Tinkerbell of Peter Pan, I wonder how on Earth Tink went from being the [prequel] creative, wide-eyed tinker fairy, best friends with the generous, caring Terrence, to being tangled up with Peter and the Lost Boys, so driven by jealousy and misplaced, unrequited love that she even resorts to being in league with pirates and attempts murder.

I know she’s just a character, but–perhaps now that I am the mother of a girl myself–I wonder how that beautiful young naive girl, or, well fairy, ended up living the life she did.

I can’t help but be reminded of King David’s life recorded in the bible. I wonder how he, a man “after God’s own heart” wound up sleeping with another man’s wife, then commanding her husband’s murder to cover up the resulting pregnancy (Acts 13:22, 2 Samuel 11:2-5, 14-17). I wonder if David ever woke up and asked himself, “How did I get here?”

Does it ever feel like your life is turning out not to be quite the… “fairytale” you’d hoped for? Do you ever reflect on your life and ask with grave regret, “how did I get here?”

Well, guess what? There’s good news for us, the rag-tag motley crew of misfits in this world. Jesus came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18).

One of the amazing things to me about David is not that he was considered a man after God’s own heart at the beginning of his rise to power, but that he is recorded in Hebrews 11 in sort of a list of great heroes of the faith after all his sin and shortcomings: “David […] who through faith conquered kingdoms […] whose weakness was turned into strength” (Hebrews 11:32-34). He wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot, but he was being perfected. None of us who follow Jesus is perfect. In fact, in my case, far from it. But we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

We’ve all been through events and experiences that have shaped the people we are. But know this: who you are now does not have to be who you will become. You can be transformed. Your heart can know true peace. You can enter into a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe…

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:16-17).

And whether you’ve found yourself in league with pirates, committing murder, or covering up every other kind of wrongdoing, there is hope.