Media Naranja

"The farmer bowed humbly, and addressed the king and queen. 'May I speak with your daughter?' he asked.   

The princess' mother and father were surprised.  Who was this man? He seemed common- yet kindness was in his manner.   

Nodding slowly, the king and queen moved aside and stood close by.   

The man looked into the princess' eyes. 

'I have worked in your father's fields for many years.  I prayed and watched and waited for one who could be my wife, yet found no one.  Then one day I saw you walking on the palace lawn.  Your beauty was marvelous, and your purity sparkled like diamonds.'

The princess blushed, and her heart began to beat wildly.   

 'I have little to offer you, Princess,' the man said softly.  'I have no gold.  I have no means to travel the earth.  I am not as strong as many...'

The farmer stopped, and the princess was afraid he would not continue.  Then he whispered, '... but I do have one very special gift I can give to you.' "

As I turned the page, all the girls gasped and held their breath before breaking into full on squeals.

"What do you think the man has to give the princess?" I asked.

          "Gold!"

          "Money!"

          "Eternal love."

          "Kindness and gentleness."


The girls were just so excited that FINALLY a man who isn't dressed like a woman or has an ugly mustache was coming for the princess.  Trying to get the girls to look past the illustrations has been an amusing task in itself.

I flipped the pages to the beginning where the king and queen first revealed to the princess her first kiss- her gift of purity- God had given her when she was born.

"Remember what the princess' gift from God looked like?" I hinted for the girls.

               "Oh! He has her kiss!" one of the girls shouted.

 "Well, remember, her kiss is being kept safe in the palace tower.  It can't be her kiss, but whose could it be?"

The girls seemed confused.

We read on...

" 'This is my first kiss, Princess,' said the man.  'God gave this gift to me on the day I was born.  My parents kept it for me until I became a man.  I have saved it all my life for you.  Would you be my wife?' 

The king, the queen, and the princess rejoiced and embraced the humble farmer.  Was there any doubt that he was the one the princess had been waiting for? The princess thought her heart would burst with joy!   

'Yes!' she cried.  'Oh, yes, with all my heart!' " 

The girls screamed such high-pitched squeals as they grabbed hold of the person next to them while others climbed on their chairs to see the picture better.

Who knew that one book could cause such an atmosphere in a normally quiet village?

Marie Ester joined in the joy of the moment, "La princesa encontro su media naranja!"

Huh? The princess found her half an orange? What does that even mean?

She went on to explain that this is an expression they use in Spanish which means a "soul mate."  The princess has found her other half.

How beautiful!

Just as the princess waited and waited, guarding God's gift of her first kiss, her purity, for the man God had for her, there was a man who had waited and waited, guarding God's gift of his first kiss, his purity, for the woman God had for him.

His half an orange.

Marie Ester asked the girls, "Who wants to wait for their half an orange?"

All the girls shot their arms in the air and exclaimed "ME!" with the sweetest laughter.

Marie Ester added, "Just as the princess found her half an orange, Lauren will find her's, too.  God already has the man set aside for her, but she's waiting on the Lord, too."

One of the girls shouted, "Applause for Lauren!"

Ay, ay, ay... Quickly, I said, "no, no, no... applause for God!"

"Applause for God!... and now for Lauren!" the same girl repeated.

Silliness! I couldn't hold back my laughter.  It is incredibly humbling to me how loved I am by the girls and how intrigued they are about the man God has chosen for me. Sometimes I think they're more excited to find out who he is than me!

These girls are so precious to me.  They truly are princesses for whom God has extraordinary plans if they will only trust and obey Him.

I've said it before, but this teaching of purity and waiting on the Lord truly goes against the grains of the culture here.  The more time I spend with the girls and their families in the community, the more I realize I, myself, am powerless to bring change to these girls' lives.

I've recently come to terms with the fact that I may never see the fruit of my labor, but that's not why I'm here.  I am only called to be obedient to God.  He tells me to go, so I go.  He tells me to speak, so I speak.  He tells me to love and live in relationship with the women and girls, and so I love and live in relationship.

My prayer is that the Lord guards and keeps these young girls safe in His arms.  That though temptation will come, He delivers them from evil.  That the Lord brings revelation through His Spirit, enlightening the eyes of their hearts to the knowledge of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:17-18).

Without this, without the revelation of Jesus, I am only reading a sweet storybook of love found.

He alone has the power to bring the light of revelation to those living in darkness (Isaiah 9:2) and the power to transform lives through the indwelling of His Spirit (Ezekiel 36:27).  I expectantly wait for Him in this promise to His children.

If the Lord has chosen to use my waiting upon Him for my "media naranja" as a means of ministering to the lives of these girls,  I will wait as long as it takes to fulfill His plans and purposes.  I have no other choice but to wait on the Lord.  Nothing else in this life matters more.  

Just as Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, it is my desire for the girls to be imitators of me in this, as I imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 4: 16, 11:1).  The girls have begun wearing rings on their right hand and pulling their hair into side ponytails like I often wear mine, but I pray they see my love for Jesus and, above all things, imitate this.

This brings deeper meaning to James' words, "not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" (James 3:1).

But really, as followers of Christ, aren't we all teachers in some way?  We are being observed and watched.  Jesus even said that by our fruits, we will be known (Matthew 7:20).  Are we bearing fruit in Jesus? Are we allowing ourselves to be reflections of our Father?

All I can say is I am grateful for the blood of Jesus that washes me clean daily and allows me to bear fruit and reflect the Father.  Lord knows, left to myself, that's impossible.

This Saturday we'll read the last page of the book.  Spoiler alert: there's going to be a wedding!  The girls have been patiently waiting for this moment.

I do hope and pray that every single one of these princesses find their media naranja someday, too.






excerpts from The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop (1999)