Forget Prince Charming.

I've decided something.  And I've decided to share it with all two of you who still read my blog.

When I was about 11 or 12, I saw Star Wars for the first time.  I wasn't interested at all in watching it, but Episode I had just come out in theaters & my parents decided we should watch the original trilogy.  We planned to watch all three, three consecutive nights in a row.  After seeing Episode IV, I was hooked.  I loved Episode V even more (still my favorite to this day!), & I was on the edge of my seat by Episode VI to find out whether or not Darth Vader was lying about being Luke Skywalker's father.  We saw Episode I in theaters the following weekend, & the obsession was sealed.

I'm pretty sure Luke Skywalker was my first real crush.  And here's what I've come to realize.

Most single girls my age are looking for Prince Charming.  They want their fairy-tale idea of a perfect man to ride up on his white horse & rescue them from their lonesome life of singleness & ride off into the sunset together to live happily ever after without a care in the world because now they have a man to take care of them.

I never really liked that.  I never really felt like some sort of damsel in distress that needed to be rescued from singleness...or from anything else, for that matter.  I've always been fairly independent, almost to a fault, & I've always wanted a man that would respect my sense of adventure rather than try to "rescue" me or "tame" me.  That's when I realized it:

I don't want to marry Prince Charming.

I want to marry a Jedi Knight.

Nerd alert here, I know, but track with me for a second & you'll see what I mean.  This is the part that gets good, & both of my readers can feel free to mock me endlessly for the dorkiness I'm about to share.  It's okay, I'm secure.  I can take it.  ;)

My Star Wars obsession didn't end with the movies.  I thought that surely there had to be SOMETHING that happened after Episode VI ended.  I was thrilled to no end to find "Heir To The Empire" by Timothy Zahn, a novel written to take place 5 years after Return Of The Jedi ended.  Not only did I get to find out what happened to my fictional heartthrob Luke Skywalker, but I was introduced to my new favorite Star Wars character - Mara Jade.  I instantly connected with her character's inner strength, her fierce loyalty, her love of dance, & her broken heart.  I could relate to her & identify with her, & I couldn't get enough of reading about her!  There was a catch, though: She HATED Luke Skywalker, & actually wanted to kill him.

I knew straight away that they were going to fall in love.

I was at the bookstore ASAP as soon as each new book came out, waiting for these two to finally get together!  Book after book after book, their relationship developed painfully slow.  She started off hating him, & then they became unstable sort of friends, & then they became close, always showing up at just the right moment to pull one another out of hot water.  And then finally, FINALLY, almost out of the blue, they FINALLY got together, & FINALLY got married.  But this is the thing - he was always so humble towards her.  Even when she wanted to kill him, he cared for her well-being & was always more concerned with her needs than his own.  She was HORRIBLE to him, constantly second-guessing any of his motives for doing anything at all, & making fun of him for almost anything & everything she could think of.  But he was so kind to her, & so patient.  He pursued her, in a roundabout way, & she eventually came around, warming up to him & then falling in love with him.  And this was my favorite part of all: HE WASN'T OUT TO CHANGE HER.  He loved her exactly how she was, independent, & fiery, & full of life, & looking for adventure.  And rather than try to make her into something she wasn't, or domesticate her, or whatever, he just showed her love & humility...which changed her eventually in a natural way, no force necessary.

The best part is, they were equals, & they complimented each other & grew together.  He didn't "rescue" her from anything - not because they got married, anyway.

The Jedi are supposed to be guardians of peace & justice.  As the army of God, we are called to do the same thing!  And I don't want some guy to come along & "rescue" me from such an exciting adventure & calling.

I want a man who is going to take me by the hand & drag me into the adventure with him.

So forget Prince Charming - what does that guy do all day long anyway?

If marriage is what God has planned for me, I want my marriage to be another adventure, with someone whose strengths are my weaknesses & who I can come alongside & support in the adventure.

I want to marry a Jedi Knight.