On a recent cruise my husband and I took together, I enjoyed morning runs on the ship’s track. I’d learned from the previous morning that the sea breeze blew my usual running cap off my head. My hair was too short to fit in a ponytail but long enough to blow in my face when the wind was at my back. So this particular morning I grabbed the only headband I had brought and positioned it on my head. As I headed out of our room to run, my husband took one look at me and said, “A tiara? You’re running in a tiara?”

This was a dressy headband with blingy jewels on it that I thought I might like to wear some evening to dinner. However, I have never worn this headband out in public but used it to pull my hair out of my face when I applied make-up. To me it was just a headband, though it had tiara tendencies. “It’s all I have to keep my hair out of my face,” I said in my defense. If my daughters had come along, I’d have had a heap of barrettes and various hair clasps to choose from. However, this was my only option that day.

I headed out to the track in near tropical force winds as a cold front blew in. Needless to say, this little headband did little to keep my hair out of my eyes. When I ran into the wind on the forward facing stretch the wind blew my hair behind me though it felt like I was running into a wall. I had to ran with my head down to spear the wind. However, when I turned the loop to run with the wind, my hair blew all over my face though the wind  pushed me along with speed.

I realized I must have been quite the sight – Fighting the wind then being blown by it. A mess on all sides. But I recognized it didn’t matter what I looked like because I wore a tiara! I loved the fact that my husband called it a tiara because it served to remind me that no matter what I looked like, I was still a child of the King. Not only was I a child of the King, I was a child of the King of Kings. I was loved by God. I was a princess. I was an heir to all the King’s blessings. Not only did I have a King for a Father, He was my Lord and my Savior. I was His and He was mine.

Don’t you love getting sweet yet profound tokens from our God? Oh, how the Lord blessed me that morning with that pleasant reminder of who I was. I was not just a mere pauper struggling all alone to get by when the winds of life blew in the wrong direction. I wasn’t merely a dust particle being blown around and carried haphazardly by the wind. I was a beloved child of God here for a purpose, chosen and blessed. God would help me in the storms of life, would direct my course in the crazy times, and would hold me close through it all.

So, if you’re ever feeling tossed around by life’s circumstances or like you’re constantly running into a wall, put on a headband or tiara and let it serve as a reminder of who you are. You are a child of the Living God. You are loved, adored, and cherished. Your King hears you when you call and will help you through all storms of life. He truly desires the best for you and is with you every step of the way. Remember – You are a child of the King.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1