You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 PETER 2:9
Catherine Bobbie is our firstborn. She’s a beautiful, wonderfully charismatic little princess. And when I say “princess,” I mean princess! I’m not referring to one of those little girls who like to play dress-up and act like a princess. I’m talking about an honest to goodness, tiara-wearing, legitimate princess — or so Catherine was convinced when she was a toddler. Of course, Nick and I encouraged this behavior. We have given her authentic Disney princess costumes, including gloves, crowns, shoes — everything short of the prince (by order of Nick). What we didn’t take into account was the fervor and zeal with which she would embrace her faux royalty (the “faux” part is just between you and me, of course, as Catherine will hear none of that).
She would wear one of her favorite princess outfits everywhere we went. Dressed from head to toe, she would visit her subjects at the grocery store, the shopping mall, restaurants, and anywhere else we visited. On a dinner outing, Catherine noticed one of the seating areas in the restaurant was closed off — and made a beeline for it. When the waitress graciously pointed out that there was no seating in that particular section, Catherine looked up and said very sweetly and sincerely, “I’m a princess. Can’t I sit anywhere I want to?”
I have to admit that I love this quality about my daughter. She truly believes that she is special. This is a stark contrast to what I believed about myself when I was a child. It took me years (okay, maybe decades) to walk with the confidence and love for myself that Catherine so naturally exhibits. Nick and I are determined never to quash this quality in her.
I can’t imagine a better start in life for Catherine than knowing who she is in Christ. After all, God calls us his sons and daughters — and that makes us royalty! We truly are sons and daughters of a king, the apple of our heavenly Father’s eye. As we come to understand this, it becomes easy for us to declare his praises to others.
MOMENT OF REFLECTION
How does knowing that God calls you “chosen” and “royal” change the way you think about yourself?