Princesses and Heroes

The dress hangs on her little body. The folds of fabric pooling at her feet hide the shoes she struggles to fill. Costume jewelry of all kinds and colors is layered around her neck and wrists. Bright eye shadow colors her lids, her lips a rosy pink, and upon her head sits a plastic crown.

The sweat pants are a loose and saggy substitute for tights. The gym shorts that are a few sizes too small are pulled over top. His t-shirt is emblazoned with the symbol of strength and justice. His arms are outstretched as his bath towel cape flutters in the wind. A mask covers his eyes, hiding the little boy and announcing the hero.

Make believe, dress up, the imagination of a child to be whatever they want, whatever they desire.

Reality has no power in the mind of these children, only hope and dreams are truth. They believe and so they are, it is that simple.

And yet the princess grows up and slowly sheds the too-big shoes, her mother’s dress, and the gaudy jewelry of the past. The plastic tiara loses its magic and reality creeps in pushing away the hopes and dreams. She realizes she isn’t a princess; she is just herself, normal, average, everyday. She may even begin to question the hope and dream of being a princess, being special, being set-apart. The crown that once shone with jewels and glory is now seen as plastic and cheap. The charade is over, the dream was never real.

The hero grows up and the tights and shorts combo are quickly left behind. Somewhere along the way the cape became just a towel again, the enchantment of it fading until it was gone. The t-shirt that signified his dream might be held on to, but now as a memory that slowly dies away with time. He is older and dreams of saving the world diminish and are replaced by dreams of success. He is average, normal, everyday, he is no hero, nothing special. The magic is gone, the power diminished. The charade is over, the dream was never real.

Somewhere, somehow, both began to stop believing. The world convinced them they weren’t a princess and a hero; they were simply average, maybe even less than average. Reality brought with it darkness and clouds that chased away the light of dreams and hope. A grayness settled in where color and imagination once reigned.

But what if the princess wasn’t made by her dress or jewelry, or even her crown? What if the costume was only the expression of a truth?

What if the hero didn’t need the disguise? What if his powers didn’t rest in his cape or his precious shirt?

What if the princess and the hero were these things already and still? What if the dream was true? What if they were who they were, a princess and a hero, because someone saw them as such? What if the world didn’t dictate reality, what if the hope was truth?

Would she know that she was called a princess by the King? Could she know that royalty was within her already?

Would he know he was seen as a hero by the most Powerful? Could he know that power was within him to be able to make a difference?

Can the child who once hoped and dreamed grow up to be someone who could do it once again?

Can the innocent hopes of a child become the truth held dear by an adult? Can they see themselves for who they are in another’s eyes? Not the world’s, not the dictation of reality, but who they are in One that is greater, One that defines truth.


Princesses
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 8:17

So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4:7

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? James 2:5

Heroes
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Luke 24:49

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Tim 1:7