When we are little, our parents tells us fairy tales as we lie awake in bed, listening to their every word.

We are young.

We are impressionable.

We believe their every syllable.

Why? Because they are our parents, our first teachers.

They provide the first values that we have.

And while we are lying in bed, listening to their voice, they impress upon us thoughts of princesses and magical kingdoms.

Happy endings, always.

But then we grow up.

We ultimately learn that life is not a fairy tale, and many of us are filled with disappointment.

We discover that those happy endings seldom come.

Someone eventually comes along and breaks our heart.

Prince Charming never appears on his horse to rescue us.

No fairy godmother ever arrives to wave a wand over us and make us beautiful.

Nor do we ever reside in a palace or kingdom.

No, I am not sure why we tell our children fairy tales.

Perhaps it is to fill their minds with wonderment and hope before life shows them differently.

One tale almost all of us have been told is the story of the three wishes.

If only that one were true. I mean, who doesn’t love the thought of having a wish granted to us — let alone three?

But then I got to thinking, what if we were actually given three wishes from a genie in a magic lamp?

What is it that we would ask for, what would we hope to gain?

It’s nice to pretend once in a while, isn’t it?

Sort of along the lines of winning the lottery and what we would do with the money.

Now, if I was granted three wishes, just like the fairytale, I could easily ask for money.

I believe most people would.

But money doesn’t solve every problem.

Money cannot buy love, health or true happiness. Although it does put less stress on your heart.

I could request of the genie he grant me a list of tangible objects I’ve always desired but never accumulated: Maybe a brand-new wardrobe, a black Ford Mustang or a beautiful mansion filled with elegant furniture along the shoreline.

But luxuries never brought anyone true contentment.

No, after much thought, I suppose what I would truly desire if I was granted those three wishes, would be to use them on a loved one.

I would ask that genie to always keep my children, my grandson and my parents safe — that they would each live a life of longevity that is protected from pain and harm.

I would ask their lives be filled with love, happiness and friends — many friends — for you can never have too many.

Yes, that is what I would request if a magical genie asked me my three wishes.

Then, something occurred to me.

As I sat here writing this column based on wishes and wondering what exactly you would ask for …

I realized we have never needed a figment inside of a lamp or a bottle to grant us our wishes.

We do not need an imaginary person appearing in a puff of smoke to keep our loved ones protected from harm or living a life filled with love, friends and happiness.

Because if we are fortunate enough, when we grow up … we learn that we only need to turn God.

We need only to pray to him and ask him these requests for our loved ones.

Praying for others is perhaps the greatest act of kindness we can give to someone.

And it is with my whole heart that I pray those “three wishes” come true for my children, my grandson and my parents.

No, we don’t need to tell our children so many made-up fairy tales.

We don’t have to fill their heads and hearts with hope of things that will never be.

I think maybe, instead, parents should tell their children more about God, more about Jesus, before they fall asleep.

Parents should instill in their child the Ten Commandments or how God wants us to live our lives. Because as children, we listen to their every word. Their every syllable.

Some will say this, too, is just a fairy tale. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, their own beliefs.

As for me, I stand beside the thought if parents were spend a few moments discussing the stories from the bible instead of so many tales of princesses and Prince Charmings, of a life that will never be, we might leave this world a little better than we found it.

We might leave with a little less disappointment. But that’s just me.

What would you wish for?

(Stenger is the community editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times newspapers. She can be contacted at jstenger@heraldstaronline.com.)