It was the day after Christmas. Meaning the day that every child wants to open, build, and play with every single Christmas gift they received. Also, the day that every parent is trying to get the kids to stay in bed just a little longer, trying to get them to be patient while they make breakfast (even though “they aren’t hungry” because they are too excited to play with their gifts), and make the much needed to get through the day coffee. This was how our day after Christmas morning began, because Olivia wanted me to build her 4 foot Disney princess castle. You read that right… 4 ft.
I want to be honest, I was so excited about giving her this gift, because when she saw the commercial for it on tv, she told my husband that it was all she wanted for Christmas. And I love the Disney princesses, so watching your child open the gift she wants the most, that you love as well, is pretty special.
She couldn’t wait for that castle to be built so that she could play with all of her princesses in it.
She had gotten the gift, and she just wanted it completed. She was living in the already, but not yet.
She Wanted The Kingdom To Come.
We live in the already and not yet. Jesus came as promised, but we are awaiting His return, and for His kingdom to come to completion.
Just like Olivia couldn’t wait for the castle to be built, we long for the promise of Revelation 21:4.
Olivia had a dream about this the other day. She said Jesus told her a story of an old old old old man. He had boo boos on his legs, and was scratching himself. She said that he died and went to heaven, and his boo boos were all fixed.
This is the day that, as believers, we long for. The promise of Rev. 21:4. The day that He will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death. They day that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Jesus, the name above all names.
The Maker Knows Best.
Back to the castle.
She was so impatient that she made things a little more difficult for me to build it. And she didn’t exactly want to follow directions. I had to tell her more than once “hold on Olivia, we need to follow the directions.”
Because sometimes, okay, most of the time, short cuts just don’t work. It’s true, they don’t. I have so many stories of shortcut fails, because I thought I could do it better, or faster, or knew better… when I really didn’t. If anyone knew how to build the castle the best, it was the company who made it. So if I wanted it built the best, I needed to trust the people who made it.
So I tried to encourage her to be patient, and in return my sweet girl kept telling me “good job mommy!”, as I was busy building this castle.
It took a few hours, because I didn’t want to rush, and do it wrong. But I completed it. I wish I could tell you that I followed the instructions perfectly. But there were a couple times I needed to go back a step or 2 because I failed to follow the instructions that the maker graciously gave to us in the box.
And once every piece was put together, she couldn’t have been happier to play with her princesses in their home.
Follow The Instructions
Just like I wasn’t rushing to get that castle built, because I wanted to follow the instructions, God has a reason why His Kingdom hasn’t fully come yet. And it is because He is being patient. He is waiting for every ear to hear about His Son, Jesus.
For now, He is preparing a place for us, just as I was trying to prepare the castle for Olivia. And when He is finished, He will come back for us.
For now, He left us with His word. And His word will lead us to the path of life. If we want to know how God desires us to live this one life of ours, we just have to open the most precious gift we have at our fingers tips.
Above Instructions…
What is the most valuable thing to learn from building the Disney Princess castle?
The instructions for the Disney castle seemed intricate and hard to follow. Figuring out which piece was which, where each sticker went, and which decoration belonged with each tower. There were so many pieces. Big pieces, small pieces, and every shape and size in between.
And just like the instructions for the castle were hard to follow, His word, given to us, can seem like it contains a lot of rules that seem completely impossible to live by.
I made mistakes making the castle. I had to go back a couple times, and redo things because I had jumped ahead. I thought I knew best… yeah that never works out too well, does it?
I make mistakes in life too. A lot of them, even though I tried not to. And this is why no matter how hard we try, our “best” won’t get us into heaven. And this is why that above the rules and restrictions, we first need to have faith.
Faith that the Creator is trustworthy, that His word is good, and written because He knew that us having it would lead us to eternal life with Him, in the place that He is preparing for us. Heaven.
God So Loved The World…
We can never do enough to please God enough to get into heaven. It has never worked before, and it never will.
We need to trust that God so loved the world that He created so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that we would not perish but have eternal life. We must believe, know, have confidence that He is the way, the truth, and the life.
And love God, with all our heart, doing as He says, knowing that one day the place He is preparing for us will be complete, and His kingdom will come. And, we as daughters of the King, will live in His Kingdom come, forever.
