Today is Lilli’s last day out here on the ranch. We leave early tomorrow morning for her home and her little family who are all anxious to see her, and I have to say that she’s pretty excited to see them, too!

I had a hunch about what I thought her favorite things would be while she was here. Certainly, the horses were the clear favorite. Well, the horses OR her Aunt Maddie; that one may be too close to call!  She’s loved playing Play-doh, blocks and the dollhouse, and reading a bunch of new-to-her books has also been great fun. But there was a sleeper in the corner of the room that took me a bit by surprise: a little pink and purple princess dress-up dress and an old red hat.

When she put those things on, she was overcome by her own beauty. She stopped in front of every mirror in our house and said…

“I am a princess. I’m SO cute! I’m SO beautiful! I am a princess!”

She would spin and spin and watch as her little dress would flare out in a display of royal color, and I thought, “why am I not taping this??” and ran to get my camera.

She saw me and I asked if I could get a picture of her royal majesty. But she didn’t answer me; she immediately turned around as if I wasn’t even there and started talking to herself in the mirror, so I switched to video.

I have to tell you that while my granddaughter has heard a time or 70 that she’s cute, she doesn’t typically go around announcing to the world that she is. But beyond that, I’ve also never seen her announce, with such repetition or confidence, her own royalty. Last night she even insisted that she put on her throne-wear for the horses, because it was so beautiful, and, after all, “I am a princess.” She’d also found a “di-mon tiawa” (read: plastic pink-diamond tiara, discovered, like gold, in the back of the closet) to wear instead of the hat that really sealed the deal and she was itching for a chance to show it off. But here’s the thing: Ever since that first experience in the outfit, she’s been telling people that she’s a princess whether she’s wearing it or not. It’s had me thinking.

We are royalty, you and I. Think of that for a minute. We were created by the King of the Universe, sealed into eternity by His Son’s sacrifice, and in that act of selflessness, we were made co-heirs with Christ.

You.

Me.

When we accepted that sacrifice as a gift for which we could do nothing to earn, we were wrapped in the finest purple cloth, our heads donned with gold and jewels the likes of which have never been seen. We were, in that instance, changed from the inside out, made new and different. And while God may be the only one who can see our royal garb right now, we should be shedding the tired old wardrobe in our minds and walking around like we can see the beautiful new threads, too…like we are overcome by our own royal standing and letting the inner light that He’s deposited there shine through. Not to make much of ourselves, but to make much of a God who could change the likes of us into a Royal.

I’m off to enjoy my last day here with the little princess. Thankful for her royal radiance and sincere, loving heart. You know, I’m also thankful for your royal radiance and your bright and shining light in these parts. Those gems in your crown, there? They’re really something.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9 ESV

“And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.” Romans 8:17 NLT

“…for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Colossians 9-10 NLT