Accepting the Fact You are a Real Princess

Do you remember the story of the Princess and Pea? In the story a beautiful, but rather ordinary young woman tells the Prince she is a princess, a real princess no less. The Queen highly doubts with shabby looking young woman is a "real" princess and arranges a test to verify the fact. Low and behold, after sleeping on a bed of 100 mattress on top of a dried pea, the young woman awakes black and blue, complaining about the horrid bed. The Queen is elated, though if I was the young woman, I would have been really, really annoyed.

I have been thinking about this fairytale a lot lately as my autoimmue muscle/nerve/fatigue/weakness whatever-we-are-going-to-call-it has resurfaced. Not constantly, but more times than I would like, though to be honest one is more than I would like😏. And I do not want to admit it. Denial is the

state I want to live in, but well, legs aching like they will buckle at any minute has a way of saying otherwise.

My trigger is stress... good or bad... physical or emotional. And well, there has been a bit of it lately. But honestly, most of it is my own doing. I keep pushing myself or putting myself in situations where I stress my body. I take a bazillion trips up and down the stairs. I don't delegate. I worry about things that are in the future, things God has not given me the grace or strength to deal with. I deny the fact my health is delicate.

I often see autoimmune disorders (especially ones not readily seen by others) by the Spoon Theory. The Spoon Theory equates daily energy to spoons. Each activity you do a day requires energy, a "spoon". If you have twelve spoons, you have enough energy to do twelve things. And not all days have the same number of spoons.

 I can see that, but I like the idea of being a real princess better. For one thing, who doesn't want to be a princess👸. Secondly, viewing myself as a "real princess" forces me to acknowledge there are something I should not do...Just because I think I have the energy or "spoons" to do it, doesn't mean I should. A princess rests. A princess let's others do the heavy lifting, both physically and emotionally. The word picture also helps others hold me accountable.

What does this look like? I have my little boys carry in the groceries even though I could do it all in one trip. I have my husband call and argue with the internet provider. My boys still nap or play in their rooms quietly for an hour and half every afternoon and I have to put my feet up (I had to make that a rule, I am a rule person 😏).

Being a real princess is not a sign of weakness, but it is a reality we have to accept. And I know it is hard. There are people out there like the Queen, who want to test or deny that you are a real princess. The queens are out there, but you have nothing to prove to them. Sometimes it does mean unfollowing a someone on Facebook who posts everyday about training to lift a semi-truck. (Not really a semi-truck but given what my body will allow at the moment, it might as well be a semi 🤣) And other times it means it means being super nice and pampering yourself (Pass the brownies please!)

I write this because I want to encourage you...I want you to know that you are not alone...I want you to realize you are a princess...Precious to your Heavenly Father...Don't push yourself, know your limits...I am praying for you!