Royal Treasures

Claire McGarry remembers when her princess-obsessed daughter taught her a thing or two about viewing life as a treasure.

When my daughter, Jocelyn, was little, she was into everything princess. She had all the dresses, shoes, plastic jewels and, thanks to a hand-me-down from a friend, even a princess make-up table. It didn’t stop there. Her passion was so intense, ordinary things became royal to her through her imagination.

I remember opening the treasure chest in her room one day and finding clothes inside. They weren’t frilly or princess-like to my eyes, but apparently there were to hers. In fact, upon closer inspection, they were from her dirty laundry pile. Yet, she saw treasure.

I also remember coming down the stairs one day and almost tripping over a sneaker she’d left on the bottom step. When I scolded her for almost causing me to fall, she explained that it was Cinderella’s shoe. Where I saw a dirty sneaker (and a trip-hazard), she saw a glass slipper.

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It’s all about perspective—and there’s no better one than that of an innocent child. How often do we challenge ourselves to become like kids as Jesus told us to?

“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

Looking at life through the eyes of a child means seeing the potential in everything and using that potential for good. A stack of dirty dishes in the sink can be an opportunity to work with our hands, giving our minds a break to clear and reset through a quick check-in with God.

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Looking at life through the eyes of a child means seeing the potential in everything and using that potential for good. #CatholicMom

Taxi rides of picking up and dropping off our kids gets us out of the house and into God’s great creation. We get a front row seat to His wonders through our windshield if we just glance around a bit and appreciate them for the miracles they are.

Even grocery shopping can be a marvel if we think of all the labor that went into the items on the shelves. We could be offering up a prayer of gratitude to the farmers, pickers, factory workers, truckers, and others who made it all possible. It’s through their sweat and toil that we get to prepare meals for our families with ease.

The opportunities are endless when we shift our perspective. That’s how we realize how fortunate we are to live in God’s Kingdom, making all of us royal and life a treasure.

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