|
Are
You a Princess?
by
Princess
Barbara
(Shelton)
 Little
girls love to play "princess." The crown and the cape are
probably the most fun aspect of it all, and maybe the bossing-people-around part
too, but there's just something delightful about being a princess or
queen, and acting all stately and regal.
Both of our
daughters love tiaras; they both used them for playing dress-up, and Sharnessa wore
a crown as a bride. (In fact the one above, with the purple
background, is the one she wore in
her wedding! And there's a picture of her wearing it at the bottom of this
page!) The interest for Sharnessa is also connected with her
name which
means "Pure Holy Princess." But I think that the desire to
be a princess is "in our blood"; not just limited to those with the word
"princess" in the meaning of their name!
(In the picture
above-left, of Carlianne (age 3) and Sharnessa (age12) in pink, Carl ianne
is wearing my bridal veil, and Sharn is wearing a crown and one of my
old negligeés. In the picture to the right, Carlianne (age 14) is
wearing a tiara, and Sharnessa (age 23) is a fairy. And the picture even
further down, left, is me ~ Princess Barbara ~ at age 4 in Hoquiam,
Washington. You can click on any of these pictures to see the full sized
version.)
This
love of "princessiosity" was in my heart 'n' soul at a very young age! In the
picture below, "Princess
Barbara" ~ yes, that's really me!
~ is four years old.
This was 58 years ago! (as
of this writing, which is July 2014!)
Even though that was a very long time ago, I can still vividly
recall and even feel again how totally royal and elegant I felt walking around
my yard in my
b eautiful
crown and cape! The fact that saddle shoes adorned my feet and
that I had an everyday dress on didn't diminish the royal experience for
me one bit; my crown and cape covered a multitude of "normality."
My
"royal cloak" was just an old skirt of my Mom's, and the crown was a joint mother-daughter effort, made out of cardboard
and aluminum foil. (I loved
to create things!) But I tell you, I felt like I was truly ROYALTY!
I don't want to
over-spiritualize the experience, but I believe there was something very
significant about this wonderful feeling, of which I had no understanding at the
time. But I must have sensed in my little four-year-old heart and spirit
that I was a princess. And this is not "just for
pretend"! We are truly
God's beloved and precious daughters (and sons!), adopted as His own,
children of the King of the universe, and therefore of royal heritage! ~ princesses
(and princes) in the purest sense of the word! In fact, in this
light the royalty of this world is really "the imitation."
I
think that many of us don't know who we really are. If we did, we
would act and think quite differently than we do. Let's take one
particular verse and see if we really believe it... We
are encouraged in the Word
of God to:
"Be anxious for nothing.
By prayer and supplication
make your requests (needs)
known to God."
Another
translation says it a little differently:
"Don't worry about
anything; instead,
pray about everything."
Great idea. But
how easy it is to be anxious ~ for and about many
things? Anything that's beyond our ability to fix, provide, or heal
it. But that's what God specializes in: the really hard
stuff!!!
"My God shall supply all your needs
according to His riches in Christ Jesus."
If we find
ourselves walking in a "poverty mentality," we need to choose to start walking as if we are the princesses ~
the daughters of the King ~ that we truly are! Would a TRUE princess go without her needs ~ and even desires ~ being met? NO! She would go to her Daddy King and
let him know exactly what she is in need of!
So there's no need to be sad and complain that we don't have enough money. We need
~ right then ~ to grab hold of who we really are, and go to our Daddy-God!
"He has given us confidence to approach His holy throne..."!!!
He doesn't want us to hold back or stay away!!! If we lack that confidence, it's only because of one or both of two reasons:
1) We haven't asked for it. or...
2) We are believing lies. Like these: "God doesn't want to bless you."
... "You're unworthy." ... "God only blesses spiritually, not financially."
... "You've blown it so many times you don't deserve His blessings. ~
And perhaps it is true that we don't deserve His blessings, but
remember what grace IS!!! ~ "unmerited favor"!
Getting
to such a place of freedom and walking in the fullness of grace begins by yielding our hearts and lives to the
only
One who possesses the power to save, heal, and help us; the only One
strong enough to carry our burdens and relieve our anxieties: the God Almighty, Our Lord
and King!
Ah yes! King! If we are children ~
specifically daughters ~
of the King, that makes us princesses in a totally correct
and complete sense of the world. So if we are still walking in shame,
failure, or discouragement, we have not fully realized who we really
are.
I
want to share a very short story with you that expanded my picture of
what a princess is...
|
Lightning!
Author Unknown
A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school.
As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with the thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child.
Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming sword, would cut
through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up, and smile.
Another and another were to follow quickly, and with each flash the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.
When the mother's car drew up beside the
girl, she lowered the window and called to her, "What are you doing? Why do you keep stopping?"
The child answered, "I am trying to look pretty, God keeps taking my picture."
*
*
*
* 
*
|
What
I love most about this story is that this little girl knows who
she is! It never even occurred to her that the lightning might be
anything scary, or anything but her Daddy God taking her picture!
When
the going gets tough, and in the midst of difficult circumstances, let us, His beloved children,
remember who we are. Let us not
be found "holding on to a form of godliness, but
denying the power therein." Let us lay hold
of Him and His goodness ~ and think, feel and act like the princesses we
really and truly are!!!
|
