Growing up I was (and still am) the biggest Tom-Boy. I can seriously count the number of times I have painted my nails. You will NOT find me wearing a dress or skirt (unless I am at a formal occasion that calls for it.) And heels? – You can just forget about that~ unless I have a pair of flip-flops in my purse.

Well, when I had daughters, I just assumed that they would turn out like me. I mean they had two older brothers to try to be like. Surely, they would just be big Tom-boys too…Oh boy was I wrong! These girls love their dresses. And not the simple plain ones you wear leggings under. The BIG FLUFFY TWIRLING dresses. They love having their hair fixed and getting all dressed up. I have seriously lost count of the number of times I have already painted my 4, 3, and 1-year old’s nails. They’re so girlie. AND I LOVE IT.

One day I overheard my daughters playing. They were telling each other that they were princesses because they had on their big twirling fluffy dresses.  I felt 100 emotions in those seconds, but quickly realized this was a teaching moment. Yes, they were only 2 and 3 at the time. And what I was about to say probably wouldn’t make sense, but I was going to say it anyways.

“Girls, do you know that you are ALWAYS a princess?” I asked.

They both looked at me with smiles and nodded.

“Do you know WHY you are a princess?” They both twirled in the dresses and nodded. I knew that they didn’t have a clue why they were a princess, so I went on to explain. “You are a princess, because God is our Father. He is a Heavenly King! You are His daughters, and He loves you very much.”

They both smiled huge cheesy grins, and then took off to play princesses in their room. I knew that they did not understand. It would take months of me telling them they did not need a dress to be a princess. Many more months of me telling them that they were always a princess, and they might- almost- understand that being a princess has nothing to do with the dress you are wearing, the way you are acting, or anything else you can do on your own.

But do I really get that? I mean seriously! I am a daughter of the Heavenly King! I am HIS CHILD! It does not matter what I wear, how I act, or what I do. I am HIS daughter. I am loved because I am HIS. My worth, my title, my life matters because I am HIS. Nothing else. Just like a hundred-dollar bill will not lose its value when placed in a trash can, I cannot lose my value. If that same hundred-dollar bill were placed in a designer purse, it would still have the same value. My VALUE is all because of HIM. He gave me that value and nothing can change it. I am a daughter of the King, no matter what. Twirling dress or denim jeans. I am a princess because of His great love.

1 John 3:1 “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” NIV