If you, then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven
give good gifts to those who ask him?
Matthew 7:11
I’m living in a palace.
Well… no, it doesn’t have walls plastered in gold, the floors don’t sport deep, red, fluffy carpets, and there aren’t any crystallized chandeliers lighting every room.
But to me, it might as well be a palace.
My whole team gets a mattress- A MATTRESS!! For my very very own!
We have running water that we don’t have to ration, which means we can take five minute showers and we can flush every time we go to the bathroom (I know what you’re all thinking, but last month we lived in a house with fifty people, and plumbing around the world doesn’t work the same as it does in the states, so hold your judgement, hahaha).
AND every night we lie down to sleep, we get to turn on the air conditioner to keep our room full of cool air for maximum comfort.
There is a Thai night market with cheap delicious street food a whopping fifty feet away from our palace (but watch out when the lady tells you it’s pork, because it might very well be squid…).
If all that wasn’t enough, our host has A PET DOG (no, not a stray, an actual real live pet dog!)
and A WASHER MACHINE (goodbye to bucket washing clothes which really just consists of dunking our smelly clothes into a bucket full of water and soap, then squeezing them out and hoping the soap did just enough to clean the clothes at least 25%).
These are all luxuries. The dog, the air conditioning, the washer machine, the mattress, the running water, the close night market- they aren’t necessities. But they are gifts. Gifts from the Father to His princess.
And no, this does not give you permission to call me Princess Diana.
Seriously, I kind of hate the picture of a princess, all dolled up, prim and proper, smelling of roses, and sitting in a throne room… it just isn’t me. But recently, God has been reminding me that I am His kid.
I Am God’s Child.
And my God is the King of the Universe, so that makes me a princess. Not the beautiful, put together princess that is in the Hollywood movies. I’m the kind of princess that runs barefoot every opportunity I get, who maybe wears the same t-shirt one too many days in a row, who sometimes forgets to apply deodorant in the mornings (don’t tell my teammates), and who only wears a dress or skirt when she absolutely has to (which is every stinkin’ day here).
But guess what?
God still calls me His child. Which means despite all of those facts that may have made you cringe a little, I am still a princess.
In Nepal, I wrestled with so much doubt. It was a fast downward spiral. I wondered if I could hear His voice, and then if He was speaking, and then if He had a voice. I got so frustrated as I tried to listen to Him, but felt like I was getting nothing. Was I deaf? Was He speaking? Did He even exist?
In His tender loving goodness, I would wake up with verses He planted in my head- verses like Matthew 7:11. All last month, instead of reprimanding me for my doubt, the Lord comforted me by reminding me of His love and His goodness, and telling me who I am.
I Am His.
He Is Mine.
In His great goodness, He has given me so many good gifts.
A dog, a washing machine, air conditioning, a street market, running water, a mattress, might not seem like much. But to me, they are love letters from My King. They are a kiss on the hand from the gentlest man. They are a Father’s gift to His daughter, just because.
All I can do is say thank you, with tears of joy in my eyes.
And that’s enough for Him. I know that His smile matches mine, because He takes joy in my joy, and He loves to take care of me.
What a Good Good Father we have!
