Step Sixty-Nine: A Princess Worth Waiting For

Dear Readers,

There is a line at the end of Tangled that I haven't been able to get out of my head. Rapunzel has finally returned home and the story has arrived at it's happy ending. Eugene (Flynn) is narrating the story. He says "At last Rapunzel was home and she finally had a real family. She was a princess worth waiting for, beloved by all, she lead her kingdom with all the grace and wisdom as her parents did before her." There is something in this statement that touches my heart in a way that no "and they lived happily ever after" ever could.

I have a somewhat silly girly confession to make. I desperately want to be a princess. A princess worth waiting for. It's not that I want a kingdom to rule or a prince to marry. In fact those things couldn't matter less. Even the whole castle, family, happy ending thing – though it sounds nice – are just small benefits. No, I want to be a princess because princesses are inherently valuable people. Even the line "she was a princess worth waiting for" implies that she was a princess oozing significance and value. You don't wait for someone you perceive to be of zero worth. You wait for someone of precious value, someone irreplaceable. You wait for for the character who, without, the story would be over.

In Tangled, you don't wait for the second guard on the left. You wait for Rapunzel. Without the guard, another guard will step into place, the story will go on and no one would even realize he was gone (I'm not saying this is right, I'm a fan of noticing the invisible but that's another blog). But who could replace Rapunzel. No one. She is a princess. A one-of-a-kind-story-changing princess.

Without Rapunzel - the King and Queen have no offspring, Gotham continues singing to a flower and hiding it selfishly away, the kingdom has nothing and no one to mourn or celebrate, Flynn stays Flynn a robber and conn until he is hung, Maximus will never be anything more than a horse, and Pascual loses a best friend. Without Rapunzel - the thugs in the snuggly duckling will never remember their dreams, so hooky will never be a concert pianist and goiter will never find love. Without Rapunzel everyone's life in the story, from Hayfever Guard (he wouldn't have been guarding a crown if there was no princess for the crown) to Flynn/Eugene, is going to be radically different. She is of that much worth.

That's the heart of my girly confession. I want to know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I am of worth. That my life has changed the lives of those around me. I want to be of worth, of consequence. That is my heart's cry. I want to know that who I am, just as I am, is completely irreplaceable. When I die and go before the Lord, my prayer would be that He says I am "a princess worth waiting for."

The sad truth is, I, like many other young women, don't believe I am. I try so hard to prove my value, prove my worth. Graduate high school - then you'll be of value. Ace college - then you'll be of value. Become a social worker - then you'll be of value. Change the entire social care system - then you'll be of value. Run your own orphanage - then you'll be of value. I continually chase after this idea of worth in actions. And then, when I'm running around in circles chasing an ever escalating false idea of worth, God throws an idea like this in my path. He forces me to stop chasing my own tail by creating a longing in my heart. He asks me to come and sit before Him and ask Him what He sees.

It is basking in His light that he reminds me that Rapunzel just was a princess. She wasn't of worth because her hair could glow. She was significant simply because she was herself. Then He whispers "you are my princess. You are of worth. You are of consequence. You are irreplaceable. You are all that and more because you are you."

So here is a challenge for young women – the next time you pass by the mirror, look at yourself. Remind yourself that you are a princess. You are even a princess worth waiting for because you are you. And then take a moment to celebrate being you. Take a moment to enjoy who you are. Let's build a habit of building up.