Little Princesses  ~ By Paula Moldenhauer

Our young pastor has three adorable little girls.  The older two are big enough to choose their clothes for the day.  More than once they've shown up to church in fancy, sparkling shoes and glittering tiaras.  They look every bit the princesses they are.

I think they are so used to us smiling at them and enjoying their shining personalities that they hardly notice how we watch them.  They go about living in their little princess world, accepting the admiration they receive as a normal part of life.

They're used to being royal.  They prance and twirl and giggle, scampering after life, never expecting rejection, just living as daughters who are loved.

Our pastor's told a few stories that prove his daughters aren't always as angelic as they seem at church.  But, I've never once sensed that his love for them was diminished by those imperfections.

Instead they seem to make him all the more committed to their well-being.  Those little girls are loved with abandon.  And it shows in their twinkling eyes and quick smiles.  They KNOW they are royalty.  They are their daddy's princesses.  When did we lose that - the complete confidence that we are our Father's princesses?  Shouldn't we mature into our royal status, growing in grace and wisdom, confident in who we are?

Instead, too many of us pack away our tiaras and decide our royal gowns don't fit.  We let the stain of the world; the rejection of others; our own inadequecies and failures strip us of our true identity.  Instead of seeing a princess in the mirror we see a flawed woman.  Instead of feeling beautiful and treasured, we feel frumpy and overlooked.

Like my pastor's daughters, I used to dress-up and dance about the house in my mom's old prom dresses.  And I've owned more than one tiara in my life.  But, as an adult, I packed away my crown.  My failures and inadequacies made me feel unworthy to be royal.

As a young mother, I let sleepless nights, baby weight, and spit-up on my shirts convince me I was unattractive.  And I had a hard time believing the Prince or His Father, the King, could truly treasure me.  I just let them down too often.  Sometimes I was so wrapped up in being their servant that I forgot I was part of the family.

When did you lay down your tiara?

Why?

Mine was misplaced because I didn't understand my true identity.  Somehow I thought I had to earn the right to wear that crown.  I didn't know it was placed on my head due to no effort of my own, but just because the Prince wanted me to have it. 

I'm wearing my tiara these days. I finally figured out that God sees it on me whether I've hidden it in the closet or shined and placed it on my head.  My status doesn't change because of my failings or my disappointments.  To Him, I'm always a princess.

So are you.

Why not dust off that crown and live this truth?

~ A mother of four, Paula Moldenhauer is passionate about God's grace and intimacy with Jesus.  Her website offers book reviews, homeschooling hints, and a free weekly devotional, Soul Scents.  Subscribe to Soul Scents at www.soulscents.us.  Visit her blog at www.gracereign.blogspot.com.  Contact Paula at Paula@soulscents.us.