Today, during our homeschool day, we read The Way Home a Princess Story by Max Lucado. Wow. It brought tears to my eyes as I related to the princess that had wandered off. I felt like I was reading my testimony in the format of a children’s book. The story is about Princess Ann, a girl that was adopted into royalty but still intrigued by the land beyond her castle walls. She sets off to explore a world not meant for a daughter of the king. It’s hard to imagine someone slipping or choosing to leave a palace, but it happened to me. As I was looking for respite from a busy life, I strayed from the right path.
The enemy gets Anna alone and entices her. All too soon she found herself entrapped by the forest; she was lost. She found the consequences more than she could bare. Only a few years ago I found myself in a place where I too was in over my head. For me, what started off as a refreshing splash of cold water, quickly turned into a downpour. I isolated myself from others. I built walls to hide my depression, worries, and alcohol usage. I felt the need to masquerade through life pretending to have it all together. This isolation caused a void that led me deeper into to depression, resulting in the vicious cycle of needing one more glass. Thus, my abuse of alcohol began.
But her father, the king, wouldn’t let her slip away that easily. He was determined to find her and rescue her. People were shocked that the king was willing to go into the forest to find her. They judged her because she chose to leave. How could a Christian knowingly continue in the sin of drunkenness? There is no way a Christian could be controlled by an addiction. "The worries of life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and make us unfruitful"(Luke 4:19). Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."(James 1:14-15).
I love the king’s response, “She has been my daughter much longer than she has been with them.” The king was willing to do whatever it took to rescue her. That kind of reminds me of the parable of leaving the 99 to find the one sheep that wandered off. God still sees value in the one that wanders off!
The king eventually finds Anna and invites her to come home, but she just stands there in shame. I chose this. I deserve this. My sins are too great. All lies that enemy kept whispering to me, trying to keep me down.
“But you weren’t made for this,” replies the king. The creator of the Universe kept calling out to me because He still lovesd me. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
The king sacrifices his life for her freedom. God sent His Son to pay the price for me. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). Wow, I love that verse.
Anna didn’t understand, “I can’t go back. I don’t know the way.” When I stepped out of denial, my life was disorganized and all over the place. It was like a huge jigsaw puzzle, with all the pieces scattered on the table. It was so overwhelming.
“Stay with me,” the father invited. “I’ll show you the way home.” I didn’t realize God was sitting next to me, helping me put the puzzle together. He led me home. Today, the story of my life is no longer defined by the mistakes I made. It’s about the grace and unconditional, never giving up love of my Savior and how he was willing to do whatever it took to get my attention & rescue me.
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