Wearing Forgiveness Like a Crown

Last week, I went for one of my long runs for my training, and stopped on Roosevelt at a colorful flower shop called Maxine's in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. As I walked in, there were rose petals making a path on the floor in the entryway.  What a beautiful welcome to their store! 

When I was there, I spotted this beautiful replica of a santos crown below. I had never heard of these, but I was so drawn to this crown, and Maxine, the woman who owned the flower shop, explained to me that they were made to put on santos dolls in some churches in the 17th and 18th centuries in Spain and Italy.  

When I saw it, the words from the song- "At the Foot of the Cross" came to mind: 

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross

So, I decided to get this for an Easter gift for our family and to put it on our mantle as a reminder of our crown of thorns for Lent that gets transformed each year into a crown of glory for Easter. 

When I gave it to Jason, Anna and Taylor on Sunday, Anna and Taylor remembered the story I have told them several times through the years about how the phrase "Daughter of the King" came to mean so much to me.  I was on a retreat in college and the speaker named Ron Ritchie was sitting outside the conference center. I was walking by myself up to the meeting room, and he simply stopped me with his words as I was passing by: "Did you know that you are a daughter of the King?" I did not really know what to say and recall saying a tentative "Yes." He then said, "You need to walk like that."  He did not know me at all so it was not an admonition. But it was an invitation to live in light of the identity I had in Christ and to live in light of such glory...  

My two favorite quotes about being a daughter of the King: 

On May 28, 1972, the Duke of Windsor, the uncrowned King Edward VIII, died in Paris.  The same evening, a television program rehearsed the main events of his life.  Extracts of earlier films were shown, in which he answered questions about his upbringing, brief reign and abdication.  Recalling his boyhood as Prince of Wales, he said, “My father (King George V) was a strict disciplinarian. Sometimes when I had done something wrong, he would admonish me by saying, “My dear boy, you must always remember who you are.”  It is my conviction that our Heavenly Father says the same to us everyday: “My dear child, you must always remember who you are.”

THERE was once a little princess who—

"But Mr. Author, why do you always write about princesses?" 

"Because every little girl is a princess." 

"You will make them vain if you tell them that." 

"Not if they understand what I mean." 

"Then what do you mean?" 

"What do you mean by a princess?" 

"The daughter of a king." 

"Very well, then every little girl is a princess, and there would be no need to say anything about it, except that she is always in danger of forgetting her rank, and behaving as if she had grown out of the mud. I have seen little princesses behave like children of thieves and lying beggars, and that is why they need to be told they are princesses. -George MacDonald 

At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suffering meet
You have shown me your love
Through the judgment you received

And you've won my heart
And you've won my heart, now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given me life
Through the death you bore for me

And you've won my heart
And you've won my heart, now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross

And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross

And you've won my heart
And you've won my heart, now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down

I trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down

I lay every burden down, every burden
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross

 I have always loved children's stories about kings and princesses.  And in this Grand Story of which God has invited us to be a part, we are that princess (or prince) for whom he came into the world to rescue. 

I am His daughter who is learning to run to Him and to love him more as I learn more about his heart for me and for this world.  

picture of a crown as it would have been adorned on statues of saints in churches back in the day

For more pictures of these crowns, click here.