Princesses by the Grace of God

"And at last I've seen the light, and it's like the world is new..."

Sunshine Girl loves to sing the song from Disney's Tangled--all dressed up in her stylish Rapunzel dress and ornate Belle crown.

I don't know about you, but I love the Disney Princess movies. All of them.

There's Snow White and the wicked Queen bent on destroying the one princess who would keep her from being the "fairest one of them all."

And, sweet Sleeping Beauty (a.k.a. Aurora and Briar Rose), who was hidden in the wood from the contemptuous Maleficent, who at birth gave the princess a curse, rather than a blessing.

And, my favorite, Cinderella, who was oppressed by her evil stepmother and stepsisters, who used and abused her graciousness.

And, let's not forget Ariel, who lost her voice to the diabolical Ursula, so she could go up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun...and be part of their world.

And lastly, Rapunzel and the sinister Mother Gothel who pretended to love and care for her, when really she just wanted Rapunzel for her lovely locks (that could make her forever young).

In each fairy tale, there's a damsel in distress, a villain, and of course, in all of them, a prince, or at least a man willing to die for his one true love.

And, in the end, there's redemption, and a happily ever after.

Those of us who have been called by the grace of God into the Kingdom of God are now children of God. (John 1:9-13)

That makes us princesses.

Now if we are children of God, even we mommies are princesses, though we may neither look nor feel like it.

This is how I typically feel:

Middle aged,

sagging everywhere,

under appreciated,

worn-out,

worn-thin,

and just plain worn.

In this fallen world that is not our true home, we easily fall for the lie that we aren't in any way

special,

valued,

precious,

treasured,

or talented (which to spend time with God alone is a talent in itself).

I don't know about you, but to walk by faith and not by the sight staring back at me in my mirror first thing in the morning would take a miracle.

So, we wear masks.

We cover up our disappointment, our pain, our loneliness, with a ton of makeup and a pasted on smile.

But, underneath it all, who is really there?

And, if we didn't hide our hearts, would anyone want to be around us?

We must believe, we truly are princesses,

loved,

pursued,

and fought for

by Jesus,

our Prince,

our Warrior King,

the Son of God,

who moved heaven and earth to get back His bride.

He sacrifced Himself to save us, His true love (1 Corinthians 15: 3-6).

How can we feel like the princesses that we are?

How can we really know it?

Ask.

Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock, and the door shall be opened to you.

And, when you ask, seek, and when you find, knock and the door will open into

{a whole new world}

 and the Kingdom of God will be more real than the lies you have been believing your whole life.

Those lies that were deliberately told to you by the villain, the enemy of your soul, Satan,
who doesn't want you to believe in the true story of a happily ever after with Christ, so that you will never know who you really are.

A princess.

Saved,

Chosen,

Set apart,

For a good work,

That only you can do,

For His Kingdom.

Those of us who, by the grace of  God,

have been set free

and healed

and renewed

and given eyes to see who we really are in Christ

have a very important job to do:

as wives, as mommies, as friends, as sisters, as neighbors.

Share the gospel. Tell them who they are in Christ Jesus. 

And, don't forget to remind yourself daily, as well.

God is real, and He loves us, and He sent His Son to save us from our sins, from the devil, and from being lost in this broken world. 

And, one day He will make everything new, right, and whole.

May our eyes be illumined by the Holy Spirit that we may know and believe who we really are and who He has made us to be.

"For by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. For you are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God in advance prepared for you to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10)