Last fall, one of the books we read for school was A Little Princess by Frances Burnett.  If you’ve never read it, it is the story of a young girl who loses her privileged status at a boarding school when her father is presumed dead.  She becomes a servant and is forced to live in the attic.

It’s amusing to me how often you can find reflections of your own circumstances on the pages of a novel.  As I read the story to my children, I often found tears rolling down my cheeks (in some cases pouring down my cheeks!) with my kids staring at me wide-eyed wondering what on earth was wrong with mom?

In truth, there was nothing wrong.  I saw a little bit of myself on those pages.  I saw a young girl who maintained the identity of a princess when everything around her was screaming otherwise.  She knew who she was regardless of what she wore, how she looked, and even the way others treated her.  How?  Because her father told her she was a princess and she believed HIM despite the facts staring her in the face.

And then it occurred to me:  I am crowned by God (Psalm 8:5) and I am a royal diadem in the hand of God (Isaiah 62:3).  He has crowned me with His lovingkindness (Psalm 103:4) and as the King’s daughter, my clothing is interwoven with gold (Psalm 45).  That is who I am and may I be so bold as to remind you:  That is who YOU are, too.

After finishing the novel we all sat down to watch the movie together.  We laughed, we cried (well, I cried) and when the ending credits were rolling we listened.  The song playing was beautiful.  It was called “Kindle My Heart” and is a little girl singing to her father.  As I listened, the pictures in my head began to swirl and mingle with the idea of doing a dance.

And so it came about that we would offer the women and girls of Dwelling Place a chance to dress in full princess regalia and declare in movement who they are in Christ:  Daughters of the Most High God.  Here are some pictures of our beautiful declaration.

Kathryn Worley and her husband Robert have been members of DP NRV since its beginnings on campus at Virginia Tech. She is the mother of five children, ages 4 months through 11 years, and is currently pursuing God’s vision of restoring dance and other arts to the Church as worship.

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