I am fascinated by royalty. What they wear. How they act. How they seem to not only have it all, but, have it all together. They often seem so graceful and polished. So not like my every day life! When Diana married Prince Charles and became Princess Di I watched every moment of the televised wedding and dreamed of someday becoming a princess.

When Charles & Diana’s son, Prince William, married Kate I savored every moment, this time thinking, I believe Diana would be very proud of his choice. Elegant, graceful & kind, Kate seems to be exactly the right choice to fill those beautiful high heels of Queen someday.

Later I read about Prince Harry’s relationship with his then girlfriend, Meghan, becoming serious enough that normal castle visitation protocol had been waived for her because she spent so much time there. No security checks. No waiting outside the gates until she’d been cleared to enter through the front of the castle. The guards just waved her in and she could go wherever she wanted. No longer considered a guest she was considered family. She was welcome to move about the castle freely.

When I was young my dad called me his princess. Still today Dad affectionately calls me ‘Princess’ and I smile every time. It warms my heart. It reminds me that I am a treasure to him and that I have access to his heart and home. And I am welcome.

Not all of us have had that kind of relationship with our father. But our Heavenly Father, the King, welcomes us to be His daughters and sons. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” So when we ask Jesus to become the Lord of our life He opens the door and gives us complete access to Him. We’re waived through security. We can sit outside the gate and wait. Or we can sing and dance before Him in the throne room. We can make hot cocoa and sit by the fire or stay up late at the kitchen table and chat about our day and make plans for the next.  In the heart of the Kings’ Castle we can enter, because, through Jesus, we are family. Because we are treasured by the King ~ we belong ~ and we are free to move about the castle.