It
was the day when the colors burst in the skies. A princess sat by a room’s
window in a palace made of gold. She marveled at the slow dance of colors of
soft blue, pink and orange. After a moment, a flock of birds flew by from a
short distance and she thought to herself, “If only I could taste such
freedom!” And in an instant, she hurried down the palace to the king’s room and
pleaded, “Oh father, give me all my possessions so I could fly as high as the
birds in the skies! I ask for such freedom!” The king, seated on his bed, was
startled by his daughter’s plea but showed not a hint of it. Calmly, he rose
from his seat and held her daughter’s hand. “Why do you demand such a thing? Didn't I already give you that? You have the whole palace, and everything you
could ever ask for! What freedom is it that you desire for yourself?” asked the
king. And the daughter released her hand from her father’s grasp, “I know what
I want, you need not to decide for me. Please give me my possession and I shall
start a new life, and build a palace of my own.” Despite the king’s negation,
the princess still pursued. He was downhearted. It grieved him to see her
daughter flee away but he had no power over her decision.
Miles
and miles away from the kingdom she knew, the princess spent the possession she
had extravagantly over all the things that she desired. In no time, she had
gained the attention of the world. A magnitude of people came to admire her and
longed to be acquainted with her. And she reveled at all the adornment she
received. But as time passed by, the princess grew weary of her life. For a
moment, it crossed her mind to go back to her father’s palace but the princess
was full of such pride that she shook the thought away. And so, she sought out
to fill in the void by getting involved with a string of princes that came her
way. She lavished her love to each prince but none of them satisfied her
enough. Worse, one prince to whom she poured so much of her affection only left
her feeling emptier than before. And so one night, as she was about to sail
into the sea of dreams, she thought again of her father. Oh how she missed him!
And that was when she found herself sailing in the sea of tears, instead. That
night, she was overwhelmed by the realization of her mistakes. She realized how
much lovelier, and much grander, her father’s gold palace was compared to her
stone-built one. She realized how much she wasted of her possessions and most
of all, of her heart. She had given much of it, too much of it that there was
almost nothing left. And she wept until there was no more.
Then came the next day, just as the sun set, the princess packed
her things and with nothing of her pride left, she traveled back to the palace
that she ran away from. But not even half on her journey, she came across a
familiar carriage and soon enough, its owner registered on her mind – it was
her father’s! She jumped from her carriage and stood on the way. The carriage
halted. And the princess wondered what her father was about to do with her. He
must be furious, so furious that he went on his way to punish her! But then
came out the king, and with tears in his eyes he said, “my child, my precious
child, I have looked for you everywhere” and he ran into her and wrapped her in
the tightest and warmest embrace she had ever received. The princess was in
tears that she almost choked up on her words, “aren't you mad at me? I have
done you wrong” “My love for you compares not to the magnitude of the things
you did” was all her father answered.
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You
see, I was that princess. And many times I had run away from my King. I traded
Him for earthly pleasures only to find myself drowning in the land of tears.
And the moment I decided to come back to Him, to where I truly belonged, not
even half of my journey I already found Him reaching out to me. And all I could
say that time was, “I’m sorry”, though I knew it would never amount up to the
magnitude of my sins. But all I ever heard from Him was, “I will not upbraid
you of your sins. I will wash them away into oblivion. My grace is sufficient
for you. And my child, I have waited for you to come back.” I couldn't understand why such love and grace were being bestowed upon me when I clearly
deserved the other way. But His thoughts are higher than mine, and my little
mind could only comprehend so much. And He saw my shattered heart and told me
to hand it over to Him, “I will mend your heart, and I will make you a new
creation.” He said. Now, I am completely healed, restored, purified. And I
realized that there is no other love that can ever compare to His love for me. I
am not worthy. But that’s how great His love is, it reaches the undeserving. And this is more than enough to keep me from
running away.
I
thought about the day when I saw a flock of birds during a sunset. I wanted to
gain freedom. But I realized that choosing to do what is evil is not freedom at
all, it is slavery. Like a bird trapped inside a cage. But His blood freed me,
and I am ready to soar up high. So now, when the skies burst its colors, I am
reminded of the day I ran away and more so, of the day I was found. I hear Him
say, “I love you, forever.” And with the last remains of sunset, I
whisper back “I love You, too.”
He
will not always accuse, nor will He harbor his anger forever;
He
does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For
as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who
fear Him;
As
far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from
us.
(Psalm
103: 9-12)
