Being a Princess

A friend of mine shared this video with all her facebook friends - I in turn shared it with mine. The video is of Gianna Jessen, who is an abortion survivor. It's 16 minutes long - but please take the time to watch it before you read the rest of this blog entry.

I wanted you to see the whole thing, and I believe that it's important that we speak out against abortion. I can't really add anything to her prolife message - so I'm not going to try. But I encourage you to become more involved in protecting life. If you know someone considering an abortion - pray for them. Be bold and TALK to them with love and concern. Participate in the Right to Life march in January. Write to your elected representatives. Do what you can - and most importantly, pray that this holocaust ends.

Gianna said something in her speech that really jumped out at me. "I am a Princess." She's right. She is a Princess. So am I and so are you (or a prince if you happen to be a boy). We are royalty - children of the King of Kings. But, what does that mean?

C. S. Lewis had one of the best descriptions of what it means to be royalty that I've ever read - or at least what it should mean. In "The Horse and His Boy" (part of the Chronicles of Narnia), the boy discovers that although he was raised by a fisherman, he was really a prince and will one day be the king. His father, who he was finally reunited with, tells him, "For this is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there's hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land."

Notice that Lewis doesn't say that the king will get more to eat - but that he will laugh louder. This isn't a comment on redistributing wealth, it's a comment on being joyful in all things. We are royalty, children of the King. But we will go through bad times, if we greet those times with a servant's heart then those who don't believe in the King will see the joy that we have.

Gianna admits that she has Cerebral Palsy - but she calls it a gift. She is a Princess who is laughing over a scantier meal. She is allowing her weakness to bring glory to the King. Does that mean that she's never sad or never, ever has a pity party for herself. Well, I don't know her so I can't say for sure, but she is human and so she probably has days here and there where that is her frame of mind - HOWEVER, she is able to turn her focus back to the blessings that she enjoys.

I take care of my mom, who has Alzheimer's. There are some days that I'm so frustrated and discouraged that I give in and have a pity party. In the middle of that, I pray and God reminds me that I am HIS - I'm a Princess. And the Kingdom of Heaven is just around the corner.

May we all learn to use our weaknesses to bring glory to Him.

In All Things Give Thanks!

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Last Friday, I had one of those days that made it impossible to be joyful. Mama was in a mood and refused to drink anything most of the day. (Have you ever had someone throw a glass of chocolate milk at you with the intent to hurt you???) I finally got her hydrated enough about two hours before she went to bed and as a result, her thought process and mood improved. So we ended the day on a good note. The deep joy that I have because of the assurance of my salvation was still there, but as the saying goes, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." It was a very BAD DAY!!

In the middle of this bad day, I had gone to my room and logged onto FaceBook hoping that one of my friends who I knew would pray for me would be logged on too. I couldn't call anyone, because if I actually had to speak and tell anyone what was going on, I knew I'd start crying. My friend Julia was online and I typed her a brief cry for help. She quickly promised that she'd start praying for me right then. I had been praying before then, but it was good to have someone agree with me in prayer.

Saturday, I got up with a little bit of dread remembering how bad the day before had been. So I prayed that Saturday would be better and thanked God for helping me make it through Friday and also for the very bad day ending on a good note. Mama was in a good mood when I went in to wake her up. When it was evident that she had to have a shower, her mood went south. We started the day with a wrestling match (getting clean is not up for negotiation!). But, the last thing I did after she was clean was to wash and rub her feet and her mood improved. In fact, we spent the rest of the morning laughing and talking. Then we had to go to the store.

God sent us so many little blessings on Saturday! First, Mama was in a good mood - and that isn't a little blessing - it's a BIG one! Next, we had to get a nail pulled out of one of our tires - and they didn't charge us for it but asked that when we needed work done, we come back and see them (you better believe I will!). Then, while we were at the store, we ran into a someone I used to work with - she was very attentive to Mama and it was really good to see her. After that, Mama & I went back to the car and as I was trying to convince her to get out of the store's wheelchair, someone stopped and asked if we needed any help. We didn't need the help, but it really meant a lot that they stopped and asked. I guess the man who offered his help thought the wheelchair was going to need to be loaded in the car, because he came back and offered to help again and asked if the wheelchair was ours. I told him, "no, it belongs to the store." Just then, another person who had just walked by, turned around and said, "I'll wheel that back to the store for you." That was so nice!

None of those blessings were major and some people might not even notice them. But I did. I said a prayer of thanks for each of those people and their kindness. Later, when Mama and I had our prayer time before bed, I thanked God again and asked Him to bless those people also.

Saturday was WONDERFUL! I believe that it was due in large part to giving thanks for the good part of the bad day and praying continually. I also believe that it was a good day because I was more in tune with the blessings that God gives. They aren't always big. But they are blessings just the same. And I challenge you with two things: First, look for the blessings in your everyday life. Second, look for the opportunity to be a blessing to someone else - even something as simple as helping someone out by taking a cart or a wheelchair back to the store for them. It might not seem like much, but those small blessings mean a lot.