Pastor Lloyd

Parents’ Story of Faith, Told by Their Child

I recently received this story, written by a young lady who has watched her parents come to know the Lord and be transformed by the power of His Word.  Former non-believers, her parents attended Calvary Chapel Old Bridge, lovingly referred to in the story as a “warehouse,” where they grew in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I was blessed to read this young lady’s unique retelling of her parent’s journey of faith, and am reminded once again of the importance of parental influence upon children!  

Here’s the story in its entirety:

Prince William

Once upon a time a boy predestined to become a true Prince was born.  His name was William.

You would think a Prince would live in splendor, but this particular Prince was a son of the Great King.  So this Prince grew up with his earthly father and mother and five older sisters.  His mother was a beautiful Princess, but she had her faults, and the father too.

The family kept moving from place to place, never able to settle down.  Prince William didn’t like that, but he managed as best he could under the circumstances.
However, William did have a tendency to “act out.”  The Great Deceiver, the Great King’s archenemy, used this to fool William’s parents into leaving William in an evil place.  He hated it.  One day, he managed to escape and found a nice older Teacher-Princess named Mrs. Wood, who gave him good advice and persuaded him to go back to his parents and school.  He didn’t like the school, but under her guidance, he made it.  His parents took him back with a metaphorical sigh of resignation, and he stayed until he was old enough to leave and make his own way in the world.

When he did, an evil Wizard with many names —Beer, Wine, Strong-Drink, Alcohol, and others — found him and began to weave subtle but strong spells over him. William was without the protection of the Great King at this time and couldn’t resist.  The Wizard’s chief name was Fermenter.  He dabbled in potions that made men become drunkards and did much harm to their bodies without them knowing it.  He gave these potions with liberality to William and he became addicted.  But he met a lovely, brilliant young woman who was also destined to become a true Princess. Her name was Jean-Marie, and they married.

They had a rough time of it in the beginning, being without the protection of the Great King.  They had their first child then, a lovely little girl named Rebekah.  But Jean-Marie couldn’t spend much time with her because of her tasks outside their rented inn.  Neither could William, so it was decided that she, Rebekah, would be put into a well-meaning, but not-very-good, nursery for children whose parents had to work.

But Jean-Marie missed her daughter, and decided something had to be done.  William was troubled inside, and so was she.  She was at the end of her rope when she went to the Holy Book and asked  the Great King to open her eyes and let her see.  He did, and she became a true Princess.  From then on, William began to see a change in his beautiful — but, to him, sometimes a little annoying —wife.  (In his defense, on occasion she wanted to take his head off too.)

She was gentler, didn’t yell, and tried to make him as comfortable as possible.  William, as you might imagine, was quite flummoxed.  What had happened to her?
He found out one day, when she persuaded him with that incredibly sly mind of hers — of course, her mouth naturally had something to do with it – to come to a Church that day.

He consented, reluctantly, and entered the rather poor-looking warehouse, expecting to be completely and utterly bored.  Instead, he heard the Truth and was transformed.  He was Prince William for real when he finally left, after making a public profession of his newfound belief and asking for advice.  He had been a profound evolutionist during his life, so he also left with a lot of documentaries which would completely change his perspective on the universe.

Having your world turned upside in the course of a few minutes is rather disconcerting, so it’s no wonder he was shaken up.

The evil Wizard Fermenter no longer had any reliable hold on him, and although William had a rough time of it making himself stop depending on the potions, he knew he had the Great King to help him, so he triumphed.

Jean-Marie was able to quit her task and come home to Rebekah.  The two parents began to raise Rebekah properly so that her beauty only accented the lovely spirit inside.  To be sure, she was only very young, so no other young Prince was looking her way.  But her parents knew it was only a matter of time.

When Princess Rebekah was two, Jean-Marie became with child again.  In February the next year, poor three-year-old  Princess Rebekah — accompanied by her older sister, Princess Susannah – waited for their parents to come home from the hospital.  Rebekah hid behind her mother’s favorite living-room chair, afraid of the perpetually-squalling little Elizabeth!



The family had many new misadventures with the new Princess, mainly with her amazing capacity to cry  for hours on end.  On one memorable instance she drove her poor older sister from their bedroom and into her mother and father’s room to get a much-needed respite from the baby’s incessant wails. (That baby cried a lot…trust me, I was there!)

When Rebekah was six and Elizabeth three, the pair received the unwelcome news that Prince William, through no fault of his own, had lost his job and they had to move.  Rebekah cried bitterly.  Elizabeth wasn’t sure what was happening, but knew something dreadful was about to occur.

But they did move, and although they told their father they would never really like this nineteenth-century house, they grew to like it.  It was nice to have enough space for a playroom (formerly the elegant dining-room). And the lovely backyard with a playground really helped.

When Rebekah was almost eight and Elizabeth was almost five, there was great excitement in the house.  A third little Princess, Katherine Louise, was born.  She was a beautiful, chubby baby who abhorred water.  She squalled when she took her first bath and didn’t like the second, third, or even fourth any better.

Kathy had many a battle royale with Elizabeth.  This was because Elizabeth was somewhat bossy, and Kathy extraordinarily tenacious, but no matter how many times they clashed, their love for each other never waned. 

And Prince William and Princess Jean-Marie were happy, watching their family grow in the Great King.

Love,

Anna “Elizabeth” Lilley…Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!



He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Romans 8:32