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My all-time favorite movie has to be
The Princess Diaries.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the tale. Mia Thermopolis is a fifteen-year-old, socially-awkward teenager who can't see much past her bushy eyebrows. Her life consists of scootering up the hilly Los Angeles terrain with her best friend Lily, and crushing on the hunky High School jock who doesn't know she exists. Her drab existance in the suffocating halls of High School are all she's ever known.
Her greatest aim in life? “My goal in life is to be invisible. And I'm really good at it.”
One day her longlost, British-Tea-Drinking Grandmother arrives and reveals the deeply-hidden family secret. Mia’s late father was king of a small European country. That means Mia is a Princess and will inherit the throne. Her reaction is like a classic Hallmark moment.
“Me…a…a princess? Shut up!”
Can you imagine the horror? Mia frequently threw up in Speech class, got sat on by other classmates, and tripped on thin air. Not much princess potentail there! The writers for this movie script must have had a fun time painting the contrast between Mia's life and the idea of what princess life should look like.
One of my favorite scenes is when Mia examines herself in the mirror and sighs, “Well, as usual, this is as good as it's going to get.”
By the time the final credits of this movie roll, I have laughed, cried and cheered Mia on. Every time, I watch in amazement as she is transformed into a woman who learned to use her voice, walk with confidence (well, most of the time) and fearlessly (or not so fearlessly) step into the role she had been called to.
This movie always inspires me. Mia is the type of princess I want to run up to and give a big old hug, shouting, “Thank you for being real!” There's nothing movie star glamorous or polished and fake about this princess. She didn't grow up in a whimsical castle, or have a long line of men waiting to court her in the parlor. I relate with the girl who trips and slams bottom first onto the bleachers, much more than I care to admit!
I suppose the reason why Mia is such a treasured character to me, is because royalty is my reality.
Yeah, you heard me right. I’m an undercover Princess. I might wear a pair of casual bluejeans, sneakers, and a messy pony-tail, but beneath it all ... I am a daughter of the King. My life is skillfully being woven together into the most exciting saga, as the Grand Author and Storyteller is magically pulling it all together.
Just like Princess Mia, I discovered my royal fate through a shocking annoucement. It was as if a royal footmen dressed in the vintage garb, complete with a white wig, showed up on my doorstep and handed me a sealed invite to a royal ball. My eyes feasted on the glorious invitation, which sparkled with gold glitter. The royal emblem declared it was from the courts of Heaven. I trembled as I read. The words resonated in my spirit, as if they were living, penatrating and changing something inside my heart. The exploration of this grand fairytale all started with these words;
John 1:9-18
“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
This open invitation was the start of a magnificent journey. I believed in the One who breathed life into me, therefore I was given the right to become royalty. I was a spiritual orphan rescued from a terrible fate. The punishment of Hell and torment, because I had broken so many of the Kingdom's rules, was hanging over my head like a storm cloud. My dark surroundings and hidden sins clung to me like a heavy fog, until the day a glorious light broke in. The shining Prince, the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, rode into my life and transported me into a fairytale.
But just like Mia's story, my life didn't radically change overnight. Me being royalty didn't instantally give me a car, a job, or a boyfriend. It didn't make me stunning and successful in the eyes of this world. In fact, it would be easy for an untrained eye to pass me by and say exactly the opposite.
But something did change. I had an idenity switch. The nature of my heart, and the very blood cursing inside my vains was washed with the devine blood of Christ. My entire D.N.A had changed! When I said “Yes” to this royal invitation, the heavens started to buzz with activity. I became a citizen of heaven.