I don’t buy the princess thing.

(I apologize to those of you who claim your daughter as your princess and who I may offend.)

I’m just not into that.  I don’t have a daughter, but if I did, I would not be buying her t-shirts that say lil princess and the like.

Maybe it comes from my days of teaching in a public high school when I had too many students who acted as if they were princesses (or princes) and expected to do whatever they wanted, and everyone else to just do whatever they wanted them to do.

Maybe it comes from all those years I was selling shoes, and seeing spoiled little kids ruling their parents as they shopped.

Maybe it comes from growing up with three older brothers, and instead of being the princess, often being one of the boys.

I don’t know.  I just don’t like some of the connotations that come along with being a princess.

Ok, so I’m not a princess, but…whatever.  Sometimes a girl should just be treated like a princess.

(I know, not the spin you expected this to take.)

I’ve written this blog in my  head a gazillion times over the past several years, even when I was living in the USA….Whatever situation brought it to mind at the time would have been the highlight of the story, slightly changing every time, yet always the same.

Let’s talk about the fairy tale princess for a second.

She is screaming in a tower, guarded by a threatening, fire-breathing dragon.

And a knight in shining armor hears the screams and comes galloping in on his white horse, sword drawn.  He fights that dragon until it is defeated, thus saving the princess.

Now, let’s review some basic elements of this iconic situation.

1. The princess never asks the knight to come.
2. She doesn’t even inform him of a problem.
3. The knight observes the problem himself and decides to solve it.
4. He didn’t give her the phone number of a dragon slayer or the fire department.
5. He did not tell her how to defeat the dragon herself.
6. The prince never said something like, here is my dagger; you can use that while I use the sword.
7. In fact, he didn’t ask if she happened to have a sword laying around, but he came with his own.
8. When the job is done, the princess is grateful.

I don’t know many women who have needed a dragon slayer, exactly…but kind of.

Sometimes dragons look like flat tires, leaky faucets, dead car batteries, refrigerators going out, snow-covered driveways, etc.  Different women have different dragons…but I’m pretty sure we all have them.  Maybe some princesses are master dragon slayers.  Yet, I have a feeling that even those ones would not mind the knight showing up sometimes.

So gentlemen, when you see or hear a princess your wife, mom, girlfriend, sister, neighbor, or friend being threatened by a dragon, please slay it.

1. Don’t wait for her to ask you.
2. Train yourself to observe these dragons.
3. Decide to solve it.
4. Don’t give her the phone number of someone else she could contact for help.
5. Don’t explain how she could slay that dragon on her own.
6. Swoop in and take care of it, recruit some of your guys to help if needed.
7. Come prepared.
8. Finish the job & she will appreciate it.

Maybe I’m crazy, but the times I have a problem and one of the guys just steps up to take care of it, it is so refreshing.

The truth is, I do know how to slay many types of dragons.  The life of a single woman, especially one living in a foreign country on the opposite side of the world of my family, church, etc., often requires it.  But man, it can get exhausting.  And, I might be wrong, but it seems to me that many men tend to get energized from killing dragons.

So guys, keep killing them! And if you find a princess who would rather enter the battle on her own, I’m willing to let you come kill some of mine.  (Logistically this may be complicated if you are not in Uganda…)

Maybe this is kind of what Peter is talking about when he says:

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.  1 Peter 3:7

I think that verse has some truths that can be applied generally to the various types of male/female relationships we have in life.