I’m a princess. I have known this for a long time. It is actually one of the very things that my foundation of faith is built on. My Father is the King. The King of all Kings. And the King delights in me.
The other day I was talking to my niece on skype. She had just woken up and showed me the princess underwear she was putting on for the day. I smiled. I smiled because I wondered at what point it becomes inappropriate to show your underwear to people. But mostly I smiled because she, without really understanding, is embracing the very foundation of her identity. That she is a princess and loved. I prayed that God would allow her to always know that. To grow in the very knowledge of all that statement means.
I am still learning what it means. I get the part that I am loved. But there is more to it – more to being a daughter of the King. The saying “to whom much is given, much is required” perhaps explains this concept. Much is given to His children. I John 3:1 says that we are His children and the love He has for us is great and He lavishes it upon us. That is a great gift. Much is given as a child, as a daughter.
The responsibility part is the part I seem to struggle with. As a child. a princess, I am given a domain. And that domain is mine to rule, my Father is the King. But most times, I find myself doing anything but ruling. In fact, running from the very gift that God has given me. Perhaps scared of what it is suppsoed to look like. Or afraid that my rule will be ineffective.
The other day, I imagined my soul as a castle. I wasn’t trying to come up with a visual, it came to me in a time of pondering. As a visualized the castle I saw that it was surrounded by water.
But I also noticed that the bridge that allows you to cross the water was not down, but very securely locked in an upright position. As I looked more intently I realized that there were crocodiles in the water. A copious amount of them. And I saw that there were tears coming from the windows. My tears.
I wondered what all of this meant. And I came to the conclusion that the visual was what I had known all along. I am not ruling or operating out of my authority. My soul is locked up. Even dead. When I think about Kingdoms and Kings, I think about dancing and feasts and order. My soul was experiencing none of those. And I realized the tears were because I knew there was more as the princess. I knew that I was called to more. Yet I was just sitting at the window, watching it happen for others. I was too afraid to wrestle the crocodiles. Too afraid to put the bridge down to cross over and invite others in.
But it is my castle. It is mine. I have full authority over it. And if I don’t want those crocodiles there, then my command is enough for them to find different waters. Leaving the window is hard. It is easier to watch other castles operate. It is easier to watch the crocodiles and be afraid of them. But it isn’t what we were made for.
Perhaps I need to purchase some princess underwear. And wear them. And show them to people, instead of hiding behind the window and looking out to what could be. It is mine. God has given it to me as His precious daughter. And my voice alone is enough to rule and decide what my life is going to be about. Defeat or victory. Decide if my soul will be alive and inviting or closed up and dead.
Yes, princess underwear it is.
