I thought that after growing up with three sisters I was prepared for just about anything that living with girls could dish out. But I was wrong, for nothing could have prepared me for my life now—thanks to my daughters, everything has to be pink or have princesses on it.
There are princesses all over my house, both real and imagined. We have princess cups and bowls, sleeping bags and dress-up gowns, dolls and bikes, and I can leave out the Disney™ Princess Talking Vanity. I wish I could say the list stopped there.
Disney hit upon a stroke of genius when they took the heroines from the most popular movies and packaged them together. I don’t know how Disney’s stock is doing, but their licensing division must be pulling in it hand over fist.
Let me give it a shot at naming them all: Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, and Sleeping Beauty, also known as Aurora. There, I did it.
Taken together these heroines make up the ideal princess, which seems to enchant every little girl’s imagination. Their physical beauty is matched by the loveliness of their gowns and various outfits. They go from rags to riches and live in a castle. Most importantly (to my girls at least), they kiss and get married. And in case you were wondering, that’s all it takes: one kiss and you are married.
It is, therefore, no surprise that my girls love to play “princess.” They dress up. They pucker up for layers of lip balm. They call each other, “your highness” and “my dear” a lot. And they want to be treated as if they are royalty (this last part happens pretty much all the time.)
But I want to encourage this all I can, and it’s because there’s nothing I would love more than for them to grow up thinking of themselves as princesses. For this is what the Bible calls them in Romans 8:14-15, “We are God’s children, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” Another name for the female child of the King is a princess.
Imagine if all of our girls grew up thinking of themselves as princesses. Not being haughty or in need of rescue, but with the unshakable conviction that they know who they are and that their words and deeds have value in the world---no matter what other people might say or do. Now, that’s a realm I’d wish we all could live in.
(Monte Johnston is the pastor of Clayton Presbyterian Church. He invites readers to come by and share a cup of coffee with him at the Coffee Mill each Friday at 8 a.m. or to contact him at 
claytonpc.com