The Princess In The Mirror

When I was a little girl, Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella was broadcast on network television about once a year. On the nights it aired, I would be glued to the set from the second it began until the last credits rolled. That night I would dream I was Cinderella. The next day I would pretend I was Cinderella. Oh, how I wished for my very own tiara and long train so I could feel like I was Cinderella. Down through the generations, girls of all ages have been mesmerized by one princess or another – some real and some fictitious. In fact, every time there is a royal wedding tens of thousands of people around the world excercise the same level of excitement and anticipation for the wedding cerememony.

As little girls we spent hours dressing up, posing in front of the mirror, and marveling at our beautiful reflection. We dreamed of our own fairy tale wedding complete with a magnificent gown and sparkling tiara. Somewhere along the line, however, we grew up and learned that Cinderella is fiction created solely for entertainment purposes, and reality rules our daily lives. Alas, as we get older and the world weighs in on our beauty and evaluates our worth, the princess fades completely from our reflection.

 

Not long ago I asked one of my young granddaughters to define a princess for me.

“A princess is a pretty girl who wears beautiful dresses and everyone loves her”, she explained.

“Can mamas be a princess?” I asked.

“No, she replied with that “silly, Nana” look on her face.

“Can Nana’s be a princess?”

“No,” she giggled behind her hand.

“Are you a princess?”

Her smile faded a bit as she sat and thought for a minute. “When I wear my princess costumes I am,” she answered proudly.

But a true princess is not defined by what she wears nor is her worth determined in the court of public opinion. A true princess is a princess because of whose she is – the daughter of a king. Ladies, I have good news.  We are all daughters of the King of Kings.

Whether your skin is smooth, wrinkled, or blemished…

Whether your hair is blonde, brown, gray or gone altogether…

No matter your size, your height, your age or the color of your skin…

You were created by the very One who paints the magnificent sunsets in the evening. The creator of all the earth personally fashioned you just as you are. 

You are His priceless masterpiece.

You are the beloved child of the King of Kings.

You are the princess in your mirror.