You Have Forgotten

A long time ago, there was a great King living in a distant land. To us, it was not distant though, for we lived there, with that King. He was our Father, and He loved us dearly. He taught us the ways of happiness, and how to become the most we possibly could with the different talents and skills we had been given. He taught us how to be dignified, respectful, and loving. He taught us how to be the Princes and Princesses that we had been born to be.

But there came a time, when the great King needed to send each of us off for a time, to learn the things that could only be learned through experience and from being away. All of us left, to discover the different things that we were to learn, away from the castle and the kingdom.

Many of them wandered, and didn’t return. They found distant lands, and settled down to till and grow. They worked there day in and day out. They became so focused on the task at hand, that they entirely forgot about their past. They forgot who they were. They forgot that they had been born to higher nobility, and that they deserved so much better than what they had settled for.

But the great King remembered all His children, and He missed the ones that had strayed. Many of His children had returned, but many had not. He went to His children who had returned, and sent them forth again, to find the ones who had forgotten. Away they went, individually or as groups, to survey the land, and find again their brothers and sisters, and bring them back.

A young princess wandered many days. She visited many people. A lot of them she recognized as her siblings she had known before, but they were different now. As if a light had gone out from behind their eyes. She realized, they had forgotten. Forgotten who they were.

Some of them listened, but not all of them did. Happiness filled her heart when another brother or sister of her’s joined her on the journey, but many of them would not. Many of them would not even listen to the message that she bore from the King, “Come home. Come join me again. I still love you, and I always will.”

Then one day, she passed a large field where a young man working. He was slopping the pigs, weeding the garden, digging ditches, and he was filthy from head to toe. This was his life. She recognized him as a brother, dear to her heart, that she had used to spend many hours with every day. They would sing songs, ride horses, and tell jokes.

With hope in her heart, she approached him. When he looked up she smiled, but he only looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. She introduced herself to him, but he did not remember her. He felt pity on the young girl though, and brought something for her to eat.

While they ate together, they talked. He listened to her stories of the past life, where they lived in the kingdom. He felt a stirring in his heart, and yet still he was not sure. He still did not remember. When they had finished their meal, he bid her farewell, and she departed, with a heaviness in her heart. He had listened, but still he was not sure.

Many weeks passed, and the young princess visited him as often as she could. They had many conversations. Slowly there started to come a change over the young man as his memories of the kingdom started coming back. They talked of the Great King, of the life they had lived with Him, of all the things that He had taught them. Slowly the light was coming on inside the young man.

Until one day he asked her, “Why do you keep coming back? Every time we talk, I am covered in mud. I have forgotten the kingdom, and the King. Why has He not forgotten me? I have messed up in so many ways. I don’t know if I can ever change. What help can you give me? What is the point of this? What do you see in me?”

She paused, and then replied, “You have forgotten who you are. The world has made you forget, but I am here to help you remember. “

“You are the son of a Great King, and you have eternity at your fingertips. Let go of those things that don’t matter so much, and remember who you are.”

“Unless you remember who you are, you will not know how to act. You will not know how to live your life, or be able to see all that you can become.”

“Unless you remember who you are, you will not be able to change. Let go of the dirt, sweat, and stains, and put on your clothes of nobility once again.”

“Remember who you are. As a son of the Great King, you are a Prince, with nobility and strength running through your veins. You are here working for this small amount of wealth, while the wealth of the whole kingdom is within your reach. Things that matter more are all you need to be worried about.”

“Anyone can change, especially you.”

Remember who you are.

I believe in you.

And so does God. Who is our Great King.

And our Heavenly Father.

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--Tara Howard



Copyright Aug. 30, 2014