Friday, February 9, 2024 The King and the Queen, A Story of Love and Betrayal (with two endings)

Once upon a time in a long ago realm, there was a wedding.  The king had found his queen.  Love was declared, vows were made, the union was blessed by the Lord of Weddings himself, and there was great feasting and hope for the kingdom. The husband made for his bride a beautiful coat and gave it to her as a wedding gift, telling her that as long as she wore the coat, she would be covered with his love, his protection, and his loyalty. He knew that she had come from a broken kingdom and sought to assure her that he would never forsake her and indeed would be willing to lay down his life for her. In time, they had four children and their little kingdom grew. The queen loved her husband, loved her children and knew they had a blessed life.  She wore the coat always and in the magical way of the gift, it was never too heavy to wear.  It warmed her when it was cold, cooled her when it was too hot, and in all ways beautified her.

After many years, it came to pass that they found themselves in a wilderness and decided to grow their kingdom there, blessing all the land around them. But the heart of the queen began to instead grow seeds of discontent. Her new friends spoke in ways that made her feel that perhaps the coat she wore was a prison instead of a protection. She began to yearn for something more, something to make her feel alive again. When she looked in the mirror, her discontented heart distorted her vision and instead of a beautiful coat, she saw something shabby, torn and faded. The coat, in the magical way of the gift, knew her heart and became now an uncomfortable weight. It grew heavy and alternatively too hot and too cold. She longed to take it off and in time, that is what she did when she was by herself.  She thought she was becoming free, and was unaware of the shackles that were forming around her soul. The king, busy with building his new kingdom, did not see this weakness growing in his queen. He did not understand the danger she was in and so failed to protect her from it.  A breach in the wall of his kingdom appeared, but went unnoticed.

One day, she saw him, a man from another kingdom just on the other side of the wall. He was a delight to her eyes and once she saw him, she gave herself over to thoughts of him. She smiled at him, flirted with him. She saw the ring on his finger and knew he belonged to someone else, but every part of the wall that would have kept her in her own kingdom, she started to dismantle, stone by stone, starting at the breach.  She could not let anyone in her kingdom know of this treachery, so she began to live a life of lies and deception.  The home that she had once taken such pride in became neglected as she spent more time breaking down the wall.  It wasn’t long until she made it to the other side and could embrace him at last. He gave her a coat that in her distorted vision looked ten times as beautiful as the one her husband had given her. When she asked where he had gotten it, he laughed and told her he had stolen it from his wife.  It would be their little secret. The queen laughed too.  How good it felt to wear a man’s coat again, she thought to herself. And she did not perceive that the coat was made of snake skin, slippery and scaly.

However, the queen’s conscience was increasingly troubled and indeed it was difficult for her to live this double life. By now she had given all of herself to the man on the other side and he had given himself to her.  She loved him! Or so she thought.  But she hated the lies and deceit and felt an increasing tension that was becoming unbearable.  In desperation to end this impasse, she let her husband see her going through the hole in the wall to the man on the other side.

The king was heartbroken.  He knew that his neglect and prideful sin had kept him blinded to this betrayal.  He grieved, wept, anguished and raged and in the end, went to the his Lord of Many Names (who understood betrayal), and after begging forgiveness, asked for the grace to forgive. And it was given, at highest possible cost, for the Lord of Forgiveness had to give his own life for it.  The king knew that a battle awaited him; he had always been prepared for battle, but thought the enemy would come from outside the kingdom. He now saw that the enemy had breached his walls long ago and was in his very home.  

The queen went back and forth in her mind about what to do – should she stay with the king or make a home in someone else’s kingdom with this new and exciting love?  She knew what was right, but by now the shackles around her soul had deafened her to the voice of the Lord of Truth.  It seemed wise to her to leave her home for a time to sort things out.  And her wisdom was great foolishness, for she left the only place where she might find peace and protection and placed herself in greater danger than ever.  And others would also pay the price for her foolishness.  Her children, once secure and unafraid, now had to be uprooted for the queen’s folly. They would live in two kingdoms and even their own innocent minds understood that their mother had done something wrong. The queen placed false counselors around her, those who would tell her what she wanted to hear. When she spoke to those in her husband’s kingdom, she said she wanted to return to the king, but when she was by herself, she could not, would not, let go of the man whom she had stolen and who had stolen her. She wore his wife’s coat and did not want to take it off.

Ending #1

After a time, the king broke his bond with the queen, telling her “You rejected my coat of love and protection; you wanted to be free – now you will be free of me. Go and may your eyes someday be opened to all you have lost. I have sorrowed, but I will sorrow no more, for the Lord of Life has given me peace.”

The former queen felt relieved at first. She would no longer have to choose between two kingdoms and she could have her heart’s desire. And what did it matter, really, that her children would never again know the beauty and safety of one home, one kingdom with a united king and queen on the thrones?  They would easily adjust to living in two kingdoms. She did not see the hurt and confusion in their souls. She did not understand that one by one they would learn of her betrayal and never be able to look at her the same way again.  The most important thing was that she’d been true to her heart, her distorted and deceived heart.  And the snake-skin coat was already starting to slip from her shoulders.

The new life she had chosen was more complicated and messy than she had anticipated.  She wore the stolen coat and even forged stolen vows, but she could never be truly queen of this kingdom.  Try as she might, she could not forget that the man she now lived with had already stolen the coat from one woman.  He reassured her it was hers forever, but she remembered he had said that to someone else. She wanted to be happy, but also could not forget that she had once believed in the Lord of Unbroken Promises and when she left her king, she left her Lord and all His kingdom too. 

Time passed and one day she heard rumors of a new queen in her old kingdom. She tried to tell herself that it did not matter – she was happy for the king! She had moved on – why shouldn’t he?  On one of her visits to her old realm, she saw the new queen for the first time and gasped with shock, for the woman wore the most beautiful coat she’d ever seen. It was radiant, resplendent, impossibly beautiful and made of unbreakable thread. She was angry at first – why did her husband not give her this coat instead of the one he gave her on their wedding day? But as she looked more closely, she saw that it was her old coat, mended with grace, lined with wisdom that comes from suffering, rewoven with stronger and more glorious thread. And the new queen was in all ways beautified by that coat and wore it with pride and fierce loyalty.  She would never remove it.

The former queen ran home in haste – she needed to see her own coat in a mirror and be reassured of its timeless beauty. But now her eyes had been opened.  When she looked in the mirror, truth stared back at her. The snakeskin coat was unbearably ugly, sloughing off in places, slimy and dirty in other places. It barely stayed on. Emblazoned across the coat was a word in scarlet that she’d never seen before: STOLEN.  She knew then that everywhere she’d gone while wearing that coat, in the magical way of the deceitful gift, that word had been seen by everyone else but her.  The coat had proclaimed the truth that she had refused to see.  And though the coat seemed ready to fall off, she could not remove it.

Ending #2

The queen would have continued in her delusion indefinitely, but one day she overheard two people talking.

“Have you seen the queen lately? She walks around practically naked except for that ugly old coat that she stole,” said the one.

The other replied, “I remember the first coat she wore – it was absolutely perfect for her and made her look radiant. I wonder why she cast it off and stole that eyesore to wear?  She must suffer from some sort of blindness.  Let us pray for her.”

The two agreed that the whole thing was a tragic mystery and walked on in thoughtful silence.

This startled the queen. Why would they refer to her lovely coat as ugly?  They must be jealous, she thought. She continued on her way and tried to forget it.   She saw two dear friends from the old realm sitting outside at a park and went to greet them. Though she approached them directly, they didn’t see her and as she got closer, she also overheard their conversation.

“Our beloved friend, the queen, has gone mad,” said the one.

“It is an odd and grieving thing, is it not? I have spoken to her and she appears to understand the truth of the matter, but then she clings ever more tightly to that misshapen rag of a coat. Can she not hear what it says?” said the other, shaking her head.

“I never took her for a fool, but it’s a true word which says ‘The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick.’  Let us pray for her,” said the one. 

The queen remained unseen and pondered what she had heard.  Why must everyone be so unkind? Why couldn’t they see what she saw? They just didn’t understand her.  But she was puzzled and shaken. What was she supposed to be hearing the coat say?

At last she came to the king’s home where she would be picking up her children to take them with her for a time.  But again, as if she were invisible, she came close to them without them seeing her, and she overheard them talking to each other.

“Brother, why doesn’t our mother live here now?” said a sister to the her oldest brother.

“I don’t know, Sister.  I wish she had never left.  She has spoken words about this to me, but I cannot make any sense of them.”

“Brother, I am uncomfortable when she hugs me while wearing that coat. She never used to wear dirty and smelly clothes before!   She wouldn’t make me wear anything like that, would she?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“No, she would not; at least I don’t think so.  But there are so many things we knew for certain that are no longer certain,” he answered.

After a moment’s silence, she said, “If I stole something, I would never want to let everyone know that I stole it!  Why does she not care that everyone sees and knows?  And didn’t she tell us never to steal or lie? “

“Yes, she did, but I think something must have happened to make her think that this time, it was okay. I am confused. But Father says we must remember the Lord of All Certain Things and pray to Him for our mother,” he said, trying to be a good older brother.

“She’s coming today to take us away.  I want to be with her, but I don’t want to leave Father and our home, and I can’t bear to touch that coat.”

“I know,” said her brother sadly.  “Let us pray for her.”

 The queen could listen no longer. Her ears were aflame and her heart was beating so quickly, she wondered if it would kill her.  She ran to her false home in haste – she needed to see the coat in a mirror and be reassured of its timeless beauty. But now her eyes had been opened.  When she looked in the mirror, truth stared back at her. The snakeskin coat was unbearably ugly, sloughing off in places, slimy and dirty in other places. It barely stayed on. Emblazoned across the coat was a word in scarlet that she’d never seen before: STOLEN.  She knew then that everywhere she’d gone while wearing that coat, in the magical way of the deceitful gift, that word had been seen by everyone else but her.  The coat had proclaimed the truth that she had refused to see.  And she wept bitterly.  

As the tears fell, they burned right through the coat, and when the coat was gone, they burned into her soul and unbound the shackles there.  And in that moment, she stood before the Lord of Repentant Hearts and humbly asked His forgiveness for her sin, shame and folly.  “My child,” He said, “You are forgiven. I purchased your forgiveness long ago with my own blood. But the road ahead of you is a difficult one.  You must go and make right all the wrongs you have done; you must give back what you have stolen, you must seek forgiveness of those you have harmed, and you must seek to restore trust where trust has been shattered.  I say this is hard, but it is not impossible. Go in my love and with my truth and grace; I will always be with you during the long journey.” 

The queen stood still for a moment, overwhelmed by the task ahead.

“GO!” He thundered.

As she turned to go, the other man came in. “My love,” he said, “Where is the coat I gave you?  You are not leaving, are you?  I stole a coat for you, I left my marriage bed for you, I deceived my children for you – and would you leave me now with nothing?”

Too late, she realized just how deep had been her folly.  Even now, she was tempted to stay with him; the old false feelings lingered.  But the echo of the Word “GO!” resounded within her and as she pushed past the stolen man, she said, “I have wronged you and your family. Make a new coat for your wife and pray she will take it.  I cannot stay with you.”

With that, she fled home and begged the king’s forgiveness. And he, betrayed and wounded, granted it for the sake of Him who was also betrayed and wounded. But the Lord of Restoration had told the truth about the difficult journey. At times, the flood waters rose to their very necks and threatened to undo them, but they held fast to the Lord of the Ark, and He, in turn, helped them to hold fast to each other. And one day, long before the queen felt she deserved it, the king gave her a coat, the most beautiful coat she’d ever seen. It was radiant, resplendent, impossibly beautiful and made of unbreakable thread. She was confused at first – why did her husband not give her this coat in the beginning instead of the one he gave her on their wedding day? But as she looked more closely, she saw that it was her old coat, mended with grace, lined with wisdom that comes from suffering, rewoven with stronger and more glorious thread. The restored and forgiven queen was in all ways beautified by the coat and wore it with pride and fierce loyalty. And in the magical way of the coat, it also covered their children, giving them safe refuge, girding them with courage for trials, and building their trust in the Lord of Families. She would never take it off again.

Brought to you by Fiction Friday at Lynniebeemuseoday.

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