Thursday, February 13, 2014

The very first Princess...

     Once upon a time, (almost 40 years ago to be exact) the first tiny princess was born into the kingdom of a great and royal family. As the queen held the tiny girl in her arms for the first time, her heart exploded with a new kindasaaaaaaaaaa of love. The King and Queen had never seen such a thing as this. Such a tiny beautiful miracle,  and they couldn't stop looking at her. Often, they sat side by side just staring with tears in wonder.  
     Everyone in the kingdom came to see this beautiful child because she was the first, and each day, her dark eyes twinkled of things the Queen could not know, and she would rock the princess and sing to her and ponder the great and mysterious secrets within those big dark eyes.   
      Soon, the tiny girl began to grow and became a force to be reckoned with. She was dramatic and precocious and now demanded the crown her Father had showed her and told her would be hers one day. 
     And so...the crown was much too big, but she wore it proudly, although it would be many years before she understood it's true significance.
     But she, after all, was the very first Princess and the crown belonged to her. So she put it on her head and embraced her very special place inside the kingdom.    
     The Queen often found her entertaining the court to their grand delight. She put on shows, assigned roles for her plays, and often sounded very bossy. She was, however,  a great light and great joy to all who knew her.
     Years passed, and the princess soon grew into a beauty. Articulate, strong, opinionated and smart, she decided she was ready to trade the Castle in for the world. So the day that the Princess rode in on the back of a big white horse holding tight to a handsome Prince, the King and Queen knew they had to let her go. 
     Then one cloudy day a few years later, the Queen stood looking out her bedroom window and saw the Prince approaching on his big white horse. When he got closer, she saw her princess behind him holding tight with a bundle in her arms. The Queen cried out to the King and they both ran down the stairs to greet them. 
     The Queen held out her arms with tears in her eyes as the Princess climbed down from the horse and handed her the baby. "We have a son." The Princess said.
     Blood vessels burst inside the Queen's with a whole new kind of love as she took the baby into her arms and breathed in the tiny Prince. The Princess had tears in her eyes now too. "We coming back to the kingdom Mama. Were coming home."
     And in the blink of an eye, the Castle was filled with little Princes. Three of them ran around fighting dragons, climbing trees, and throwing rocks. They played in dirt and left a trail of footprints and fingerprints everywhere they went. They wrestled, snuggled, laughed and cried. They learned every fact about dinosaurs, told the best stories on earth, and everyone...everyone...in the Castle and the court were in love with them.  
     The crowns the King gave the 3 little Prince's were too big too, but they wore them on their heads and pranced around just like the Princess had, because they were Princes after all, and the crowns did belonged to them.
     This time though, instead of correcting the boys as they had with the Princess,  the King and Queen just watched and smiled as the Prince and Princess gathered up the the 3 wild boys and took them to bed. 
  Because the truth of life was simple. The King and Queen knew who the real giver of crowns was, and they knew of His love and His sufficient grace. 
     And so...on a sunny day the next week, the King and Queen set aside their Kingdom duties as the King loaded their little Princes into the Kingdom Carriage to head out for a day of Kingdom adventure. 
     The Princes are rowdy and fighting over their too big crowns as the King leans down to grab the hand of His Queen. "We are Blessed," he yells over the noise as he pulls her up beside him. She smiles as she settles in and shouts back.  "Yes," the Queen says, eyes full of love, wisdom and tears..."That my King...we are!"