A Crown and a Princess Dress

I'd like to share a powerful story that my family has about one of my wise little nieces. God has reminded me of this story and is using it to teach me some valuable lessons. My hope is that it will help you as well.

One day my four-year-old niece came out of her room to find her mother running around the house naked because all of her clothes were in the washer. "Mommy, mommy! Wait here a minute! I have just what you need," she yelled as she turned and ran back into her room. When she emerged a few seconds later, she was holding out a sparkling dollar-store tierra. As my sister knelt in front of her, my niece placed the tierra firmly on her head and proclaimed, "There! Now you're perfect!"

What a fantastic object lesson that I need to remind myself of over and over again in relation to God. When I kneel down before Him, He takes me just as I am. He knows exactly what I am because I can't hide anything from him. Every part of my life is exposed. But He gives me a crown of righteousness anyway and tells me, "Now you're perfect!" The dollar-store tierra that my niece placed on her mother's head won't last long, but the crown that God gives me will last forever. (I Cor. 9:25) I am His child forever - His daughter, a princess, a sister to His Son, Jesus Christ, who gave up everything for me at our Father's request.

So, besides a crown, God also gives me a princess dress - the most beautiful gown that could ever be imagined. The Bible calls these "garments of salvation and robes of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10). Like Karen, who put her testimony on this website a few weeks ago, I often have self-esteem issues. So many situations come up where I feel that I'm not good enough, not valuable. So, what I've done is to ask God to work on that part of my life, and in contemplating this story about my little niece, God has started to answer my prayer already. He has reminded me that I am His precious child and that he has put a crown on my head and given me a beautiful princess gown. When I think of myself in this way, especially in difficult situations where I am especially vulnerable and weak, my own opinion of myself seems to fade into the background and God's opinion of me comes into the forefront. Because I have knelt before Him and believe in what my brother, Jesus, did, I have a royal crown and a beautiful princess dress. My hope is that, in Bolivia and in Regina, I can let more people know about the crown and princess dress that is waiting for them.

Ruth Quiring