The Princess on the Other Side of the World

In the late 80's, when the Disney Stores first opened, I bought and collected several limited edition statues of the Disney Characters.   The Little Mermaid was the first of these statues and was hard to get because of the popularity of the character at the time.   The statues were limited edition and made of porcelain, and were very valuable.   I had missed the Little Mermaid, but because of my connections with Disney, was able to acquire one when they were no longer available.    After buying each one I would bring it home and set it in various places in my library. 

One afternoon, my sons who ranged in ages from 4-9, decided to make Daddy's library the place to have a Star Wars light saber fight.  Using broomsticks that reenacted the famous Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader battle, swinging the broomsticks and playing as little boys do.  In the midst of the battle, Darth Vader's swing intended to cut off Luke Skywalker's hand, decapitated the Little Mermaid.   

I hate to ruin everyone's impression of me as a Ozzie Nelson father, but I lost it.  Talking of  fictional characters, in that moment I transformed from the mild mannered man that I am, into the Incredible Hulk.  My anger became so out of character for me, that my mother (who lived in the apartment above us) heard the commotion and came to the rescue of Darth Vader (aka Michael, my oldest son).   In that moment, I created a bad memory that would stay in the lives of my children forever. 

Weeks later, my wife used my Disney contacts and was able to get another Little Mermaid to replace the decapitated Disney Princess that had now scared my Ozzie image.   I did not realize how the presence of that statue affected my sons, especially Michael through the years.   For years that statue set in my library and served as a constant reminder to my children of that day.   I didn't realize the trauma the Incredible Hulk-Dad caused my sons, until I overheard my boys talking about it when Michael was in his early twenties.     

I had to remove the Princess and all her friends so that the constant reminder of this bad episode was not in my son's lives any more.   I took all the Disney statues, listed them on eBay and marked the Little Mermaid for International sale.  Over the course of a few days, the Lady and Tramp, Snow White and Dopey,  the Beauty and the Beast and all their friends found new homes.  The Little Mermaid was packed and mailed to Australia, as far away as I could  get it from my boys. 

I'm reminded of the scripture. "as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."   Psalm 103:12 ESV    I'm thankful my sins and transgressions are taken and removed so far away that they can never be seen again.   

I'm not alone in this… while our memories may endure, our sins and failures are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ.