Crown-like

November 01, 2011

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

Proverbs 12:4

Oh dear! That is frightening and exciting all at the same time. Is there an in between? Between Naomi posing as a Pink Pirate Princess for halloween fun, getting ready to dress up as Princess Aurora for Evie's "Princess and the Pop Star" birthday movie in a "Carriage," and my infatuation with Disney World and all the princesses therein, I am am inundated with the idea of a crown.

What really is a crown? My friend Anita and I were discussing it a while back. It denotes position, it sparkles, it is polished and kept in a safe spot when not being worn, it stands tall and poised, shows authority, reveals someone in a position of trust, leadership, and regality. Without a crown, someone could be walking by, and you would never know their bloodline or stature. They immediately become average-joe-like and once the crown is revealed, people buck up with respect for the person. How crown-like are we? We talked quite a bit of how un-crownlike we were, worked ourselves into a frenzy, and then back to an excitement about this new idea of executing our roles as wives with crown-like intentions.

We held a lot of comfort in the idea that the power and authority does not come from the crown itself. The crown tells about the power that one has and adorns the wearer's head. It's like a tree's leaves rustling. We may say, "Listen to the wind in the trees." Is it really the wind or the leaves that we hear? It is most definitely the sound of the leaves rustling because of the power in the wind at that moment. It is the branches swaying that we see, but the strength of the wind is where the movement comes from.

Now, do you have a clear picture of where the real leadership royal bloodline comes from? I'd love to say it is because I have done this or that and my charm and personality has empowered Mike to be able to wear a crown. I'm so glad it's not true though, because I'm sure I would have positioned some kind of crown a little closer to the top of my head then actually striving to be a great crown. All my energy would be going to where the crown is sitting, rather than expending my energy on sitting tall, standing firm, and letting the jewels speak for themselves rather than explaining what a ruby, sapphire, or diamond is. If you ask how we met, it would be obvious that it was not our own intentions that brought us together.

So I will then ask this question, one of my favorites for Naomi, "Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know!" (Prov 30:4) As she is sitting on my lap with half of a princess outfit on and a cartoon shirt with Princess Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White, I was typing out loud, and her response is, over and over "God and Jesus."

Here are some pictures of crowns from the Netherlands. We are both half Dutch, so this country seemed the most apropos. What kind of crown do you want to be?