King’s Day

 

A few days ago, in the Netherlands people celebrated King’s Day. I only remembered it today, as before King Willem Alexander, it used to be Queen’s Day, on the 30^th of April. Have I ever mentioned I don’t like change? Maybe I should write a blog about that...

Anyway, on King’s Day, people hang out the Dutch flag and streets and parks are decorated. There are street games, special markets, and one city or town will get the royal visit. The entire royal family will join them. They will be looking at local places of interest, they’ll take part in games and they’ll take selfies with the public.

It made me think of a host of rabbit warrens. Kings, good and not good, weak, strong, kind...so many types of king. When you read through the books of Kings and Chronicles, you can see that sometimes, being a king meant you’d probably not have a long life. Other kings reigned endlessly.

Then there is the story about the new king and queen of a country who disguised themselves as poor peasants to travel their kingdom, to see if and how people would change from their previous royal visit. They found a little girl who treated them exactly the way she had when they visited in splendour. Think of the stories you could write along those lines!

Then there is the Kingdom Story Writers group as well, 

helping you to wear and straighten your crown!

There are plenty of songs about kings. I do love the Dutch national anthem, as some of the verses are just beautiful. It was originally a poem from a friend to William the Silent, written in the 16^th century. It has fourteen verses and is an acrostic, making the prince’s name. It made me want to look up other national anthems. That would lead to more reading and searching, for what kind of person wrote each anthem, and when?

The Bible has songs dedicated to kings as well as to the King of kings. It’s what motivates us each day, Thy Kingdome Come, and I’m thrilled when my writing reflects that. God’s kingdom can be in the details or in the mundane, like the little girl giving a drink to the king and queen as well as the poor peasants that stopped by the cottage.

There are ways to share about Jesus’ Kingdom. Maybe overtly or more hidden. Maybe it’s His kingdom in you that makes you share stories. Book three of the Elabi Chronicles will most likely be published this week, if I can get my children to go to bed in time... A large, unexpected part of the book ended up being about the Breath of Life. I didn’t see it coming, it just happened. I thought the theme of the book was going to be about a mother’s love. But then things happened. Anyway, you’ll be able to find out for yourself in a few weeks, haha.

So make this day King’s Day. Pray for Jesus’ kingdom to come, for Him to reign and whenever you write, write for Him. It doesn’t have to be a fourteen verse acrostic poem, it doesn’t even have to be Bible based writing. It’s your heart where the kingdom is, and where His will is done. So go celebrate the King today.

Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life. Because of her interest in writing, Maressa is part of Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion For Writing, an anthology encouraging people to write.

Her debut novel, Sapphire Beach, was published in December 2019, and her first self published novel, Walled City, came out in December 2020, followed by Viking Ferry, a novella. Beyond the Hills is the second book in the Elabi Chronicles, and was released in 2021, followed by stand-alone novel Burrowed, released in 2022. All of Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.