I'm a Princess Too

I admit it -- two weeks ago, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Royal Wedding Fever.

Symptoms are said to include:
- Purchasing $100 of Princess paraphernalia for an impromptu early morning office party,
- Drinking mimosas with co-workers in the conference room while awaiting the balcony kiss,
- And waking up at 4:30AM to ensure a front row seat in front of the TV on your treadmill.
- In the most extreme patients, specialists have also witnessed waking up your husband with shrieks of excitement for him to come watch as the bride emerged for the first time.

Treatment can take weeks, or as long as the next news cycle, to take effect.

If you're reading this and have also contracted this horrific condition, please know, you're not alone. If you are a loved one of a survivor, stay strong for them. And finally, if you're my husband, I'm sorry {but not that sorry} for ripping you out of bed like that. You're a sport!

In all seriousness though, it was such a thrill to watch the wedding of Catherine Middleton and Prince William. If you know me, it doesn't take much to realize that the combination of a wedding and real life royalty is right up my alley!

What I couldn't quite understand however, amidst the Royal Wedding hullabaloo, was why our wedding, 6 months earlier, hadn't received the same degree of press coverage. After all, don't they know who I am?!?! Perhaps, I thought, it was the lack of festive headware present at our nuptials. Then I got to thinking....

I was reading a recent devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries {if you're not signed up to receive their daily devotional, I strongly suggest you do!} about the many hats that we, as women, wear on a daily basis. The author astutely observed that oftentimes, as Jesus girls, we tend to wear our crown atop a very high and unstable stack of other hats. She concluded by urging us, each day, to wake up and don our crown, as the daughter of the King, as our very first hat upon which we can then build a stable, multi-faceted collection of hats.

That's when it hit me!

I was finally able to pinpoint the nagging feeling of, dare I say, jealousy, that I felt while watching the Royal Wedding proceedings. It was, undoubtedly, the feeling that no matter how often my husband assures me that I'm his Princess {thank you sweetie!}, I would never really be called a Princess...legally (unless I worked at one of these companies). But, as daughter of the Most High King, I am exactly that - a Princess! You can imagine my excitement at the realization.

Because I am saved by God's grace, I too can wear a crown of victory and share in His glory! What an utterly awe-inspiring, life changing truth. Can I get an Amen!

But, in the words of Peter Parker's grandfather, "with great power comes great responsibility". Just as Princess Catherine will now take on the responsibilities of being a newly minted member of the Royal Family, when we put on that crown as one of God's daughters, we're accepting the responsibilities and promising to live our lives as stewards of what it means to be part of His family. What an awesome (and weighty) call!

So although the paparazzi and onlookers the world over were not waiting, with bated breath, for my gown to be revealed (it was a head-turning gorgeous Vera Wang Luxe by the way), and although I only received one new name upon marrying hubs (as opposed to several, i.e. Her Royal Highness Princess William Arthur Philip Louis, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus) ours was, nevertheless, a Royal Wedding -- the joining in Holy Matrimony of two of the King of Kings' prized children, "heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ". And that, dear friends, is worth celebrating each and every day!