Grace Turns Broken Tiaras into Crowns

I have great news.

Did you know that Grace turns broken tiaras into crowns? Let me explain…

As little girls, we learn from good parents that we are beautiful, cherished, worthy, and loved.  We host tea parties as we play the part of the princess proudly wearing our sparkly tiaras and frilly boas. Unfortunately, tiaras become heavy as we grow into womanhood. They are often broken, discarded, and shattered all snatched away by the enemy’s hand. 

I will never forget the testimony of a young woman at a faith walk I attended several years ago. All eyes followed her as she came to the podium dressed in a clown suit. At first, she seemed so child-like and somewhat out of place in a room of women dressed in tee shirts and jeans as she preceded to tell her story. 

As a young girl, she too had loved to play dress-up and have tea parties. That is until her stepfather stole her innocence and shattered her worth. A broken tiara was all that remained as she put away her joy of dress-up.

That is until Jesus washed her clean and restored to her what the enemy had stolen. God gave her a notable crown in place of her tiara and she now uses dressing up in costumes to visit children in hospitals and tell people about the redeeming grace of Jesus.  A timely representation of God taking what the enemy intended as evil and forever turning it into something good. 

In I Chronicles 20: 1-2 (KJV), we read of David’s redemption story,

“And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah and destroyed it. And David took the crown of their king from his head and found it weighed a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it, and set it on David’s head.”

So much had happened between “Joab smote Rabbah and destroyed it” and “David tarried at Jerusalem.” A special reminder tucked away in God’s truth about how even our own mistakes and sins never define us. A stunning message we will miss if we don’t look for it. 

You see, the time David tarried at Jerusalem was when he was supposed to go to war fighting for his country. In the moments that passed, he committed adultery, caused a woman to sin, and had a man killed.  These were not some of David’s most noble moments. 

Amazingly, God preferred not to mention David’s sin even once in the retelling of this battle story.  We see the enemy’s crown quietly slipped on David’s head. A spotlight is shown on God’s grace and redemption that didn’t merely write David’s story but is already like a pen set to paper to retell ours as well.  

I’ve been learning a valuable lesson over the last several months. It has come at the hand of difficult days as we battle a devastating illness within our family. Some of my own less than notable moments have ensued though I am not proud to admit it. This hardship that I realize I have not taken well at all.  But my mistakes and shortcomings never define me nor will the sins placed on any of us by others. 

The enemy utilizes a thing called sin to steal our tiaras called worth. He replaces them with a heavy crown of shame, guilt, and unworthiness. But God restores what the enemy has stolen and replaces it with something greater and something more beautiful.

He restores our worth through his shed blood and places a crown of righteousness upon our heads to wear in dignity and grace. Boas can become dirtied and stained but our heavenly Father replaces them with garments of praise and honor. Tea parties can be abandoned and neglected but he invites us to his table and spreads the bounty wide, inviting the enemy to watch. We all long for rescue from the damage life can do in one form or another. (You can also read my blog post on longing for rescue @https://ruth216girl.com/longing-for-rescue)

God turns tiaras into crowns setting the stage for the most glorious party of all, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. He adorns us as brides for their husbands and invites us to “come and dine.” He sets the stage to honor us in His very presence with never a mention of past sins, regrets, and shame.  Forever to be celebrated throughout eternity where our worth will never again be broken or shattered, and our garments forever washed clean as white as fresh-fallen snow.  

Nothing we have ever had taken from us is beyond restoration through the grace of Jesus. Nothing shattered that He can not repair. And nothing destroyed that cannot be redeemed. 

God’s grace is an extraordinary thing. It is the glue that puts us back together and holds us in place.  It heals our hearts when we feel we will never be able to love or feel worth again. It brings us full circle to that place of innocence we knew as a child. Honored, made worthy, safe, and loved. 

Yes, God’s redeeming grace is an extraordinary thing. 

See you in the field and at the table dressed in my crown,

Susan