Princess

I thought I would explain the title Princess. A few weeks ago a couple of the women on the Board of Directors where I work started calling me Princess. For some this would be just another nickname and they would have fun with it. But as I thought about it I became afraid that maybe I was acting like a "Princess", arrogant, bossy, superior etc, so I had to ask. They said no, we think you are special and just thought the word Princess fit. So now I can have fun with it and was delighted to receive the crown as a gift on my special day and I wore it all day!

I felt bad that I had to question the motives behind the nick name but it goes back to my Mother who never wanted us to feel like we were something special and act out because of it. I knew my parents loved me, if I was good, but I was never called Princess or any other nick name. My name was my 'label' and I didn't need any other label. Actually many nick names are more hurtful than up building. Four-eyes, Olive Oyl (I was real skinny), scarty kat, even when people are smart or girls are pretty the compliments can be delivered in such a way that they hurt instead of uplift.

How nice it would be not to question motives or meanings behind what others say but to assume it was delivered in the spirit of love and ultimately a gift from our heavenly Father.

Pretty Princess

A few days ago I posted a picture from my Birthday Party at work and I was wearing a 'crown' because two of the board members call me Princess. One of my friends has a little girl and when she saw the picture she said "what a pretty princess"! Of course that made me feel good and then I stopped to think about how wonderful children can be and how loving they can be and how simple the world looks through their eyes. I look at my picture and see the things I would change. Jesus said we needed to become like children to see the kingdom and perhaps this is a good example of what He meant. Adults look at each other and sometimes we only see things to criticize or to categorize others as good or bad, friend or foe, acceptable or cast away. Oh to be loving as a child and to see others as valuable, lovely and to expect a friend or play mate. Maybe I should just hang out on play grounds and learn to play and trust but someone would probably have a problem with that.