The throne room was huge and beautiful, with a thick, crimson carpet running from the doorway to the foot of the throne. Tall and elegant lamp-stands illuminated the aisle, alive with light that glanced off every polished and glittering ornament in the room. And there, upon the throne, was the Great King, royal and radiant. Lynn could not move for a minute, so overwhelming was the sight. She was seized with fear and desire all at once, knowing her weakness and shame made her unworthy to even see such majesty.
“Come, enter in, my child, and tell me what you desire,” the King invited, with all gentleness and strength. The sound of his voice did not surprise her; it seemed somehow familiar to her heart. It was the Voice - the Spirit - that had called her all along the way, guiding her steps and leading her unto himself. Such love was too amazing for her to understand, and it compelled her to draw nearer.
As Lynn took one step, the enchanted slippers carried her quickly forward, in a lovely little dance all of their own. The candlelight sparkled on the shoes, and such joy filled the fairy that she felt as though she had already been blessed. She knelt at the throne and said, “Your Majesty, I’ve come to humbly ask you… to grant me wings that will fly.”
Strangely, the request sounded shallow to Lynn when she spoke it, and didn’t seem as crucial as it did when she first left the Faerie Realm. She wondered if she really needed the wings as desperately as she always thought she did. As she waited for the highly anticipated response, she found herself wondering if the King could give her something even better.
The King, with a kind look in his eyes simply replied, “What charming slippers you are wearing. Where did you get them?”
The slippers? Lynn was puzzled and flustered. Why did the King care about the slippers? She said, “A friend gave them to me as a gift. He is the good wizard in the northern mountains.”
“Ah, Judson is a good man and very wise. I am glad he knew to whom the gift should be passed on at the perfect time.”
“Do you mean that you were the one who gave them to him first?” Lynn said, still perplexed.
“Yes, they were made for you from the beginning. Now tell me, what have you heard, and what do you believe about me?”
Lynn thought for a long moment, considering all the things she heard throughout her journey:
“’Tis also true He’s kind and good…”
“We cannot truly experience joy to its fullest until we have faced suffering… and allowed His powerful love to overcome it…”
“He always knows exactly what he is doing, and always carries it on to completion…”
“I don’t know what he has in store for you. But I do know that he is good, and all good desires in our hearts come from him, and he will fulfill it at the perfect time...”
“He knows what your greatest need is, much more than you do; he gives the best remedy, which may be something you don’t expect; and he does what will bring you true joy and him the most glory.”
“So wonderful, so magical – the greatest King of all!”
Reminded of these things, she responded, “I believe you are good, that you love me, and that I can trust you. I believe your plans are better than mine, and you do all things well. That is what I had heard, and somewhere along my journey, I learned to believe it.”
“What you believe is true. Will you live in this truth, even when you do not understand?” As he spoke, the King stepped down from his throne, lifted the fairy in his palm, and held her close to his heart. “Beloved, I have given you wings, and they are full of more life than you will ever know. But I created you for a purpose much greater than wings can accomplish. Flying is a gift that can be enjoyed only by the one with wings and others who can fly like them; you were made to share your wings with many different kinds of people and creatures. You want to fly because it is the greatest thing your mind can imagine. But what if I showed you even greater dreams – what if you saw what my mind can imagine? Then, I think, you would not be so concerned with merely flying.”
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