Yesterday at my ladies small group, the DVD speaker talked
about us as “daughters of the king” which really means we are princesses. He said when you are born into royalty, you
are told from day 1 you are a Princess and are raised from day 1 to act like a
Princess. What he was referring to was
to act with dignity, innate worth, and act from a place of respect because a
Princess is respectable. I decided to
look up “What is a princess?” in the source of all information these days
“Google”… I found the following information from the “Urban Dictionary”
website:
Princess Qualities
So, how does a princess act? What
qualities should a young maiden have to catch the eye of a prince? Let's take a
look at what a princess should be.
Noble: A
princess is a noble young lady who carries herself with poise and dignity. She
listens attentively. And when she speaks, she carefully chooses her words. She
exercises control over her emotions and makes choices based on what's right
rather than on how she feels. Though she isn't perfect, she possesses a strong
sense of duty that comes with knowing she's a princess.
Selfless: A
princess thinks of others
Trusting
and Faithful: A princess believes and trusts
Humble: Another
princess virtue is humility. She doesn’t demand or expect special treatment
from others and chooses to refrain from bragging or boasting. Instead, she
focuses on others and their needs. She doesn't have to be in the spotlight
because she already knows she’s a princess.
Kind: A
princess is extraordinarily beneficent. Gentle, generous, compassionate,
patient, good-natured and forgiving are all words to describe a princess.
Respectable
and Admirable: A princess doesn't compete with a
prince. Just the opposite, she builds him up. It's her admiration and respect
that inspire the prince and compel him to greatness. When he sees that he's a
hero in her eyes, it's no wonder he's willing to suffer for her. A hero will go
through anything to keep an admiring princess by his side.
A princess is a princess regardless of
her attire or her circumstances
Hmmm… I find this very interesting. Did this description match what
you had in mind when you think of that “friend” you called a princess because
she is unwilling to scrub toilets? Is
this this what I meant when I called my daughter a princess this morning
because she didn’t clean up after herself for the thousandth time? Sure, we may put on tiaras or boas for silly
pictures, but soon after leaving our little-girl years behind us, being called
a princess is usually not steeped in positivity. Forgive me but for lack of a
better term, the word Princess has been bastardized in our culture to mean
“prima-donna, high maintenance, spoiled, selfish, etc.” It certainly hasn’t been used to positively
describe women in most instances – especially when we use it like a curse word
to describe someone else!
So, how did we get so far away from the actual intent? Why is it that we want to see our little
girls as princesses but we want them to grow up and not be a “princess”? What if we reclaimed the word Princess? What if we started to take our place as
Princesses – Daughters of the King most High?
Imagine… a world where we really believe we are daughters of the King…
a world where we raise our daughters knowing they are princesses… a world where
we live out the values and characteristics of a princess because we KNOW who’s
we are… a world where our value is not determined or shaped by what the world
says a we are but one where we know our worth was determined before we were
even born… a world where we live in the knowledge that our inheritance is a
kingdom – no, THE Kingdom!
How would our lives and the lives of those around us change if we
stepped into our destiny as princesses?
Would our relationships strengthen if we were noble (“listens
attentively. And when she speaks, she carefully chooses her words. She
exercises control over her emotions and makes choices based on what's right
rather than on how she feels.”)?
Could we really change the world if we were truly more humble and kind (She doesn’t
demand or expect special treatment from others and chooses to refrain from
bragging or boasting. Instead, she focuses on others and their needs. Gentle,
generous, compassionate, patient, good-natured and forgiving)? Would our marriages be stronger, more fulfilling
if we behaved more respectably and admirably (A princess doesn't compete with a prince.
Just the opposite, she builds him up. It's her admiration and respect that
inspire the prince and compel him to greatness. When he sees that he's a hero
in her eyes, it's no wonder he's willing to suffer for her. A hero will go
through anything to keep an admiring princess by his side. )
I don’t know about you but I know that my behaviour is often so far
from God’s perspective of princess. I
don’t act selflessly – I often think “what about me? It’s not fair!” Shamefully, I don’t always act respectably
towards my husband; I am often critical and self-righteous. It’s painful to look at just how far I am
from being described as a Princess. When I look in the mirror, I don’t see a
Princess but God does. I have His
daughter and He is the King; ergo, I’m a princess. My prayer is to start living each day as God
sees me; maybe, just maybe, if I did that, others would start to see Him
through me and when I looked in the mirror, the reflection would be more of Him
and less of me everyday. At the end of
my days, I want my epitaph read “She knew she was a beloved daughter of the
King most High and lived her life as a Princess everyday!”
Let’s reclaim the word “Princess”!
Let’s live & leave the legacy we were meant to as daughters of the
King!!!