Keep Your Crown On
by Marchauna
Women wear many hats. Some of us are wives. Some are mothers. We
are all daughters, and many of us are sisters. We work in
hospitals, board rooms, and bathrooms. Some of the time we soar
like eagles. Other times, we fall flat on our faces.
And when we do, the world is quick to put a dunce cap on our
heads.
The cap may say different things. One time it may say “Failure.”
Another time it may say “Loser,” or “Stupid,” or “Worthless.” But
ultimately the world is telling us that what we do is more
important than who we are. And, even if we don’t admit it to
anyone, much of the time, we believe that lie.
But God has a completely different hat for those who have been
adopted into His family.
Ephesians 2:11-19 (NAS) reads (in part), “Therefore, remember
that at one time you Gentiles (italics added)…remember that you
were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. (bold and italics
added). But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have
been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our
peace, who has…broken down the…dividing wall of hostility…so
making peace, that He might r4econcile us both (Israelites and
Gentiles) to God in one body through the cross…for through Him we
both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no
longer strangers but you are fellow citizens with the saints and
members of the household of God. (bold and italics added)
For those of us who have been adopted into God’s family, as
members of God’s household, we are princesses! The world can no
longer define us based on our performance. God defines us by His!
But, when the world pulls out the dunce cap, it still fits. The
choice then becomes, which hat are we going to wear? Which reality
are we going to live in? What are we going to choose to embrace?
So much of the time, it seems, we choose to accept that dunce
cap! I definitely do - far more often than I’d like to admit.
Actually, as I type this, I’m wearing a cheap imitation tiara
because I’m really struggling with the dunce cap labeled
“Failure.” I feel like one. People I love have been disappointed
in me, so “Disappointment” is blazoned across that cap, too. And,
in my kitchen, the dirty dishes are breeding faster than I can
wash them (of course, I’m not washing them right now…I’m typing on
the computer, lol). It is easy to accept the hat the world wants
to force on our heads. That is a choice I face every single day.
The truth is, though, no matter what else happens, no matter
what hat the world tries to force on my head, that tiara is still
there! It is always there. And it isn’t perched on my head because
I deserve it. It has been placed there by the very Creator of the
universe.
What I do with that knowledge can change everything.
And, the question becomes, will I keep my crown on, or not?
Having put that cheap, plastic imitation tiara on my head has
helped. My focus is not on my failings, but on my true identity.
And as I focus on that, everything comes into perspective. I
disappointed someone; I’m not a disappointment. I failed someone;
I’m not a failure. I am so much more than a composite of my
performances. I am a daughter of the One True King, and that says
it all.
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