....who crowns you with His love

Today as I was running, the song came on by Ellie Holcomb based on Psalm 103: 

Praise the Lord, O my soul
Oh and all my inmost being
Praise the Lord, O my soul
Don’t forget His love

Who forgives all of your sins
And who heals all your diseases
Who redeems your life from the pit
And who crowns you with His love

Who satisfies your desires
Oh with good and lovely things
Who renews your heart
Like a flight on eagles’ wings

Praise the Lord, O my soul
Oh and all my inmost being
Praise the Lord, O my soul
Don’t forget His love

I know I have told you the story over the years about how the phrase "Daughter of the King" came to mean so much to me.  I was on a retreat in college and the speaker named Ron Ritchie was sitting outside the conference center. I was walking by myself up to the meeting room, and he simply stopped me with his words as I was passing by: "Did you know that you are a daughter of the King?" I did not really know what to say and recall saying a tentative "Yes." He then said, "You need to walk like that."  He did not know me at all so it was not an admonition. But it was an invitation to live in light of the identity I had in Christ and to live in light of such glory...  

My two favorite quotes about being a daughter of the King are below: 

On May 28, 1972, the Duke of Windsor, the uncrowned King Edward VIII, died in Paris.  The same evening, a television program rehearsed the main events of his life.  Extracts of earlier films were shown, in which he answered questions about his upbringing, brief reign and abdication.  Recalling his boyhood as Prince of Wales, he said, “My father (King George V) was a strict disciplinarian. Sometimes when I had done something wrong, he would admonish me by saying, “My dear boy, you must always remember who you are.”  It is my conviction that our Heavenly Father says the same to us everyday: “My dear child, you must always remember who you are.”

THERE was once a little princess who—

"But Mr. Author, why do you always write about princesses?" 

"Because every little girl is a princess." 

"You will make them vain if you tell them that." 

"Not if they understand what I mean." 

"Then what do you mean?" 

"What do you mean by a princess?" 

"The daughter of a king." 

"Very well, then every little girl is a princess, and there would be no need to say anything about it, except that she is always in danger of forgetting her rank, and behaving as if she had grown out of the mud. I have seen little princesses behave like children of thieves and lying beggars, and that is why they need to be told they are princesses. -George MacDonald 

At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suffering meet
You have shown me your love
Through the judgment you received

And you've won my heart
And you've won my heart, now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given me life
Through the death you bore for me

And you've won my heart
And you've won my heart, now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross

And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross

And you've won my heart
And you've won my heart, now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down

I trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down

I lay every burden down, every burden
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross

 I have always loved children's stories about kings and princesses.  And in this Grand Story of which God has invited us to be a part, we are princesses for whom he came into the world to rescue.  

Anna, I am praying that you will know that you are His daughter whom he crowns with such love...