Real Princesses Wear P.L.U.M.

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My first daughter, Elizabeth was a self-declared princess.  From the moment she could walk and talk she made it clear that she was all about PINK. And the the more fluff  the better. 


Her closet was filled with ruffles and lace, tutus and tiaras. She didn’t own a pair of jeans because we couldn’t find denim with enough bling to satisfy her appetite for sparkle. 


Lizzy wore gowns to the grocery store, tutus to the park, and tiaras to church. She horrified her first-grade brother when she joined him for school lunch one day wearing only a bright pink feather boa, a glitzy jewel-laced leotard and a sparkly silver crown.

 
But something happened to my petite princess when she went to kindergarten.  The little girl whose closet was crammed full with dresses and skirts came home from school one day and asked her big brother if she could borrow his gym shorts. And a t-shirt without holes.   
 
“Why?” my son asked, royally confused.
 
“Because I’m a tom-cat now,” Lizzy replied matter-of-factly. 
 
“A tom-cat?” 
 
“Yeah,” Lizzy said with a shrug of her skinny shoulders. “A tom-cat. You know. A girl who doesn’t do pink.”
 
As shocking as it sounds, my princess had morphed into a tom boy – I mean tom cat- overnight. And that was the end of the ruffles, the dresses, the feather boas and the tutus. 
 
Fast forward another year and my tomcat is sitting in Sunday School class (not in a skirt or a dress, of course) and listening to her teacher tell the story of Esther, the queen who saved God’s people.  


When the sweet Sunday School teacher finished telling the triumphant tale, she looked her whole crew of first-grade girls in the eye and said with a smile, “Did you know that YOU are like Esther. You are royalty, too, girls. You may not have a crown or live in a palace, but your Heavenly Father is a king. The King of Kings, in fact. And that means that every one of you is a princess. A daughter of the King of heaven and earth.” 
 
I wasn’t in that Sunday School room that day, but according to my dear friend who was serving up snacks just a few feet away, my tomcat wasn’t all that excited about her royal identity. 


As soon as the room grew quiet, Elizabeth raised her hand politely and waited for the teacher to grant permission to speak. Then she stood up, cocked her head of gorgeous blonde curls to one side and announced, “I don’t WANT to be God’s Princess.” 
 
A quiet undercurrent of shock and disdain buzzed through the Sunday school room as the teacher tried to formulate a reasonable response to my daughter’s bold declaration. 


Finally, the kind woman pulled Lizzy into a re-assuring hug and said, “Of course you do, honey. Every girl wants to be God’s princess.”


“Not me,” my resolute girl replied once more.
 
“Well, why not?” the teacher asked, exasperated.


“Cause princesses wear PINK and tom-cats don’t like PINK.”
 
 According to my friend, the Sunday School teacher just stared speechlessly at Lizzy for a few moments and then patted my daughter on the head and announced it was time for snacks. Proof that our Sunday School teachers deserve immeasurable eternal rewards and a good number of hugs and thank-yous here on earth. 


On the ride home from church Lizzy replayed the whole scene for me. When she repeated her tom-cat declaration in the van, I swallowed my giggles and told her the truth about God’s girls. 
 
“Seriously? You thought REAL princesses wear Pink? Come on, Liz, that’s only in the movies. That’s so Disney”  


As my husband snickered at the wheel of the mini-van, I turned my whole body around and looked my no-pink-princess straight in the eye.  “Real princesses wear PLUM, honey. All you have to do is read the Bible to figure that one out.”


Then, since my tomcat still didn’t appear convinced, I added- “PLUM sweatpants if they want!”


Never heard of a PLUM princess? Here’s some wardrobe wisdom straight from God’s Word…

Real Princesses Wear Plum
P-A daughter of the King wears a gown of PRAISE
 
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
    I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. -Psalm 9:1-2
 
L-A daughter of the King has eyes that LOOK for JESUS
 
Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him [Jesus]. 
                                                       -Luke 24:31
U- A daughter of the King celebrates her UNIQUENESS
 
 
Body and soul, I am marvelously made! -Psalm 139:14, The Message
 
M-A daughter of the King MAKES ROOM for God’s Word
 
 
Let the Word of Christ, the Message, have the run of the house…Give it plenty of room in your lives…-Colossians 3:16, The Message 

 

 



So grab your tutu or your t-shirt, your tiara or your baseball cap. It doesn’t matter what you wear on the outside. 


It’s the under-garment that counts, the layer that covers your heart. 


I suppose we could say that a real princess does life in PLUM underwear! 


I had a blast teaching a beautiful crew of sixth-graders all about princess-ware last weekend. I left our sweet night together inspired to pray for PLUM hearts for all of us! 


Would you join me in slipping into something PLUM and letting the King clothe us in true beauty?


The Overflow: You’re beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.–Song of Songs 4:6, The Message


Happily linking with Tracy at Winsome Wednesdays  And Jennifer at Getting Down With Jesus




Alicia

11 Comments

  3. Warrior princess– love that! I think I’m a mix of tomcat and tutu queen 🙂 Glad to know He loves us in all colors!

    Reply

  4. Oh, I love that girl of yours. I do wear pink, but I’ve got a tom-cat streak in me, too. 🙂 I think maybe your daughter is a WARRIOR princess. She’s got spunk! 🙂

    Great, great post.

    Reply
  6. Tara Pohlkotte says:

    um. i kinda want to be a tom cat, too 🙂 love their hearts expressed with such passion. also? love your heart, it is expressed the same way.

    Reply

  9. Wonderful post! I remember when I was a leader of single women and I was having quite a difficult time. Then God told me to tell my single women that they were His princesses and they needed to be trained to be His princesses! Marching orders! I was more on purpose after that! Blessings! Patsy from
    HeARTworks

    Reply

  11. Hi Alicia, I really enjoyed this post. Great play on words and lovely creative writing. But the best part is the message. I was blessed by you today sister. I am your neighbor over at Jennifer’s linky today. You can find me at http://christianeveryday.com. Blessings!

    Reply

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