Keeping a Princess heart…

I find it difficult sometimes to stay focused on the positive. A lot. I think it’s kind of endemic to our instant gratification society…if we don’t get the answer we want right now, it is very easy for us to lose patience, or hope, or our tempers.  But one of the strangest feelings is to lose hope…to lose innocence…to stop believing in something. This is especially true in my  womanly heart (who is at her core, still quite a girl). I spent most of my childhood days imagining myself a princess on an escapade, saving the kingdom, being useful and desperately needed by my populace, and loved by my fair prince. I would dress up in old easter dresses, or a dress of my mother’s…hats, jewelery. We girls have all done this at some point in our childhood.

I say all this, because I think we all kind of look back on that magical time of our childhoods, and which it were so, wish that we were beautiful, strong, needed, loved…because we feel that we are not anymore. We judge ourselves…this dress makes me look fat…my hair is awful…no one wants this wreck…we are so down on ourselves. We look in the mirror, both physically and emotionally, and say " I am not enough."  We shell out billions of dollars for the right makeup, the right clothes, the chick flicks that whisper to our hearts, the novels that tell a side of the "princess" story.

The fact is…we have always been princesses. Even when no one is watching, like Sarah says in The Little Princess. We are beautiful. We are strong. We are desperately needed. We are loved. But the villain came and stole our joy, clouded the mirror, whispered hateful things. It is perfectly okay for us to be who we are…unique, amazing, precious, gifted creatures. Okay to sneak our tiara now and then.

Of course, a princess isn’t just about the trappings. She is graceful, kind, and cares for those in her charge. She is strong, amazing, and thoughtful. She measures her words carefully. I think that is why I want to try to always act like a princess even when no one is watching…I want to get better at knowing myself, knowing my mind, knowing when to speak, when to be quiet, when to use my gifts, when to enjoy the gifts of others.

Because someday, my Prince will come. I want Him to find me faithful.

"As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him" (Psalm 18:30)