Hello, my friends! I keep being insanely sporadic with my posts, but I'm FINALLY here to post again. Today, we're going to deal with how to write a ridiculously shippable romance, using a single example. Yes, I said just one. One example of how to write the perfect relationship (if you ignore the last three songs of the musical).

That relationship is Orpheus and Eurydice from Hadestown.

(all photos in this post courtesy of Pinterest)

If you're into musicals, I would absolutely recommend this musical. It's so powerful, it's (99%) clean, it's got the best romance of ever. It's something I can recommend with almost zero qualms. It will definitely break your heart, though, so bear that in mind (I've already broken both Brooke and Nicole with this, so...yeah).

(I see we're back fast and furious today with the parentheses.)

Today I'm going to do less of actually looking at the plot of Hadestown, and instead going to deal with how to write a romance using Hadestown's Orphydice (a thing?) as a model! So with no further introduction, let's jump in!

1. If your hero is going to be weird, make him endearing

2. Make BOTH characters compelling

3. Give each character their own desires and wants

4. If there's going to be conflict in the relationship, it needs to be something complex for both characters.

5. The single most compelling thing you can do is make the guy willing to go to the ends of the earth for her.

Yes, before I continue, this can go both ways. But come on, ladies. There's just...SOMETHING about a guy fighting through all odds for us that feels like magic. 

I love this trope so much. Orpheus just embodies it so well. He loses sight of his goals--and when that causes him to lose Eurydice, he decides to follow her "to the end of time...to the end of the earth...with all my heart". The songs when he chases her down across the ends of the earth are just *chef's kiss* He doesn't do it through physical strength, but he's still SO strong. And it just....ARGH do this more often, people. Please. My heart. 

In the end, it doesn't matter what the guy fights for her--just let him fight SOMETHING. My little romantic heart will pass out in a flurry of joy. Like literally. There is almost no better way to make me fall in love with a story. 

 Sometimes, He seems so far away.

Those are the days I have to look around and honestly ask myself: am I seeking? Am I following him? How much do I care? Do I actually understand that I can't make it on my own?

One of the most important things to remember as Christians is that we can't actually do it on our own--but there is the rub. We CANNOT do it on our own. However, with God, we can do it. And that word--do--is so very important.

Christianity isn't just church attendance, or singing, or knowing the truth, or choosing to surround yourself with people who agree. It isn't just sharing the gospel with people. It isn't just raising your hands in worship. All of these things are included, and they are all very much important.

But that's not all Christianity is. It is not a religion that consists of doing works for one's own purposes. My sisters and brothers, we serve a higher calling.

It's all for Him. We are put here, on this earth, for the blink of an eye in comparison to the timeline of the world. We are, as the Psalmist puts it, like the grass of the field, there one day and dead the next. Our good deeds are worth next to nothing. They are the scribbles drawn by a four-year-old in thick red crayon.

But that--THAT is where we see the most importance facet of Christianity. If all we had was the scribbles of a four-year-old to get us into heaven, we would be doomed.

But we are not just any four-year-old. When you become saved, you become the child of a King.

And when you run to that Father, that kind and gracious King, with your scribbles, screaming, "DADDY DADDY I THOUGHT YOU WOULD LIKE THIS", he smiles, and he is proud. He loves the gifts you can bring, even if they are nothing by the world's standards.

Even if they can never be enough to save your soul.

This is the deepest heart of truth--we have been saved, not by an aloof and distant ruler, but by a King who calls himself our Father. He is the father we all so earnestly need. No matter how great our earthly fathers might be, they can never compare. And if your earthly father has failed you...well, I promise God is a better one in every way. He is the best father. He is the reality that all earthly fathers are mere images of.

And God LOVES his children.

He calls us to love him too.

So don't fear him, O his child. Run to him. He loves you.

We are in real relationship with Him, and he will hold us. 

So don't be afraid. Take that step of faith. Raise your hands and lose yourself in his goodness. Worship Him in spirit and truth. Run to Him when you're afraid. Love Him. He is good.

We don't have to be afraid.