And the spell was broken

I love a good fairy tale. How many fantasy stories have spells that must be broken for the characters to find their happy ending? Spells don't just apply to stories, but real life, too.

Last night I went to the home concert for my brothers' church choir - the Sonshine high school choir of Brentwood, TN, that spent last week in D.C. Reflections from their tour were read and one stood out to me.

It was written by a guy who has a developmental disorder that makes social interactions difficult. He said how at the beginning of the trip he was really struggling - didn't know what he was doing there, everyone else already had friends, and was painfully aware of how hard it is to talk to others. He said he was sitting with his head in his hands and was very sad. But, someone came up to him and asked him to join their group. And just like that, he said, the spell was broken, and he felt welcome, like he had a place to belong. My mom was a chaperone on the trip and remarked how the other kids really embraced him and he even had a solo.

And just like that the spell was broken.

I heard "In Christ Alone" on the way to my internship this morning and the line "and as He stands in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me" made me think about what it means for the spell to be broken. Christ has risen, breaking sin's hold on us, breaking the spell, and as the song says, "no power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand."