Long, long ago, far, far away…okay, actually, it was before the King created the Universe…He set His love on a very bad man and his wife. No one understood why the King loved the man and his wife, because they were very, very bad. They thought a lot of themselves and little of others. They were very selfish, thinking only of themselves all the time and what would make them happy, and that made them argue and fight and talk ugly and never want to share.
And the King gave them a little girl who was just like them. She cried all the time, from morning until night. And as she grew older, she kicked and screamed and hit her friends at school and scribbled on her papers and never shared her dolls or her toys. When she didn’t get her way, she would throw all her toys on the floor in her room, or run away and sulk, or sometimes she would even bite herself or pull her hair out.
But the King lavished His love on them.
He kept pouring in water and love, and it was like a great big bubble bath, and the bubbles of His love just kept growing like a vast garden in the spring. There were love bubbles everywhere. Some of the bubbles were even shaped like hearts—just for the fun of it because the King knew that a love so clean and pure would be irresistible.
And so the man and his wife, and their little girl, though they were very bad, and very selfish, they could not help but be attracted to the King’s bubble bath. And as they jumped in the bubbles, they played and laughed, giggling as the bubbles danced all around them, making music that brought a joy they had never known—a joy that began to change them. For in the bubbles, they saw the beauty of the King’s love. And as the bubbles did their work, they all began to see how their badness was like grimy slimy mud and dirt that had caked them from the inside out.
But the King’s bubbles not only washed away the filth, it began purifying them. They were like tiny magic mirrors that enabled them to see their dirt and ugliness, and the more they looked at the bubbles, the more beautiful they became, because they were lavished in the love of the King.
And as they played in the bubbles of His love, much to their surprise, they found that they began making their very own bubbles! And the more they played, the more bubbles they made. They blew bubbles at each other and laughed to see how very big they could blow them across their cheeks and hair and catch them with their palms. The man and the woman and their little girl played so much in the bubbles, that their bubbles bounced and danced right out of the windows and the roof into the streets and into their neighbors’ homes. And the more they all played in the bubbles with their friends, the more their love for the King grew.
As their little girl grew, the man and his wife began to think that one day their little girl wouldn’t be little any more. And they thought and talked about how wonderful it would be for their little girl, who was their own little princess, to be wed to a prince who also loved to frolic in the King’s bubbles just like they did.
And so, both the man and his wife, sometimes together and sometimes by themselves went to the King, and asked Him if, when their little princess, princess Elizabeth, grew up, if He might grant them their request. The King did not say anything. The love and joy that danced in His eyes let them know it was possible. But they knew from the Ancient Word the edict that His royal subjects were to keep asking to see what He would do. For He always heard, and He always answered in the best and most delightful ways for His subjects, even if they couldn’t see His answers at first.
But in another village, not so very far away lived a little prince whose parents had given him the name to reflect the beauty of the enchanted woods the King had made: Forest.
Prince Forest discovered the magic of the King’s love as he explored the thick evergreens whispering the praises of the King. And as he hiked along the river creek, he found the tiny stones mesmerizing in the beauty of how they had been formed. As he fell in love with the King there in the enchanted woods, he longed for a princess he could take there, so that together they could behold its magic, and together delight in the King who had made it all.
As Providence would have it, one day Prince Forest traveled to the village where the little girl lived. Princess Elizabeth had by this time grown into a lovely princess, so filled with the beauty of playing in the bubbles that when she sang, her voice filled the little village.
As Prince Forest entered the village, he heard the voice singing praise to the King, and he began searching earnestly throughout the village to find the lovely magical voice. The closer he came to the voice, the more he could feel his heart swelling with anticipation and joy. Could that voice belong to a princess who would join him in singing praise to the King in the enchanted woods? And so he searched and searched with great longing.
When at last he saw her, he could not move, for she was more beautiful and lovely than he’d even imagined, for she loved the King who had lavished His love on her. Bubbles danced all around her in the dazzling sunlight as she sang.
All at once, he approached her, and upon learning that she was Princess Elizabeth, he asked her to come to his home in the enchanted woods and be his wife.
Princess Elizabeth, however, knew in her heart of hearts that though the King had lavished His love on her, deep within resided an ugliness that perhaps Prince Forest and others could not see. An ugliness that the bubbles hid. She was afraid to leave the home where she felt safe and loved in spite of it all. She loved the King and she knew He loved her. She felt best just playing in His bubble bath that made her heart sing and brought joy to everyone in the village as she sang praises to the King.
But Prince Forest found that the King had filled his heart with a love so faithful and pure, that he loved Elizabeth, even if she would never be his wife.
And so Prince Forest and Princess Elizabeth became very dear friends, growing in their love for the King. And they played in the bubbles together, laughing and dancing, and sometimes Prince Forest would take Princess Elizabeth to the enchanted woods and show her the precious stones the King had made, and the more time they spent together, the more they both fell in love with the King.
And as their love for the King grew, Princess Elizabeth found that in being with Prince Forest, her love for the King grew and grew, and she began to think that perhaps her love for the King and the music she made might be even sweeter if she said yes to Prince Forest’s proposal.
And so, on a very cold winter’s day, in a place very very far away in the enchanted wood, Prince Forest bent down on one knee, and this time when he asked Princess Elizabeth to marry him, placing an exquisite sapphire ring encircled by tiny diamonds on her slender finger, before he could even get the words out, she exclaimed, “Yes!” For she knew that Prince Forest would always love the King more than he would ever love her, and that made his enchanted woods very safe.
And together they would live happily ever after…until the blessed wedding day with the King. For the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Forest was only a foreshadowing of the eternal wedding that is to come.