Where's my crown?

My daughter has officially entered a "princess" stage, despite being too young for any of the movies. We attempted Snow White a couple weeks ago, and made it about five minutes in before she burst into tears because she "didn't like the prince singing to Snow White" and wanted him to go away. Sigh.

Last week, she insisted on wearing her crown to my parents' house for dinner. As we left that night, she said, "Where's my crown?" in a semi-panicked voice. My dad said to her, "It's on your head, sweetie. Isn't it funny how after you wear a crown for a while, you can forget you have it on?"

That statement hit me in the heart.

The Lord's favor is all around me, and yet because He's so good to me all the time, I'm guilty of forgetting. I'm guilty of saying to God - not in these exact words, but this is the essence - "Hey, where's my blessings?"

My last time on here, I talked about how I'm trying to be more thankful, and this goes hand-in-hand with that. Being grateful for those things I've had for so long, the shine has worn off. Or maybe they're things that have never seemed all that shiny.

Like my hair. I have pretty neutral feelings about my hair. It's not something I praise God for, certainly. But in the last couple years, I've watched two close friends and my aunt, lose battles to cancer, and all of them lost their hair in the process. I've decided to praise God for my hair daily.

Or health insurance. We've always had health insurance. Until recently, my feelings have been neutral-bordering-on-cranky when it comes to stuff like picking a provider, dealing with what they'll cover/what they won't. But at a monthly meeting I attend, there are several who are without health insurance, and who have chronic illnesses that require medical care. I now regularly praise God for insurance.

I'm praising Him for providing clean water to drink. For being able to go to the grocery store and buy food on a weekly basis. For being able to turn on the heater. For living in a neighborhood where it's safe to play outside.

As I do this, I'm overwhelmed by everything God's given me. I'm his daughter - his princess - and the crown is heavy with blessings. So heavy, in fact, these days I find myself so busy praising Him for everything he's already given me, I barely have time to ask for anything else.

Stephanie Morrill is a twenty-something living in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband and two kids. Her only talents are reading, writing, and drinking coffee, so career options were somewhat limited. Fortunately, she discovered a passion for young adult novels a few years ago and has been writing them ever since. Stephanie is the author of The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series and is currently working on other young adult projects. She enjoys encouraging and teaching teen writers and does so on her blog www.GoTeenWriters.com. To connect with Stephanie and read samples of her books, check out www.StephanieMorrillBooks.com.