Restoring Kingdom Builders

Once upon a time, there was a king.

The king ruled a land where His subjects felt unsafe … so he searched for another land where they could live.

He found a land nearby and proclaimed himself king.  Shortly afterwards, he built a castle.

Many people enjoyed visiting the castle and listening to the king’s wisdom.

But after many years, the king was getting old.  He looked around for a prince who could succeed him as king.

Many paraded themselves before the king, but he rejected them all.

The king finally chose a prince from another land, who brought along his wife, a princess.  They moved into the castle with the king and queen.

The families of the king and prince got along, and the people rejoiced.

One day, the king said goodbye, and left for another land.  The prince became the new king … his wife the new queen.

The new king loved the people, and they loved him.  Life was good.

But some citizens missed the old king.  They began sending him messages, complaining about the new king … who was not exactly like the old king.

The old king told the new king about these messages, which the new king appreciated because he wanted to be friends with everyone.

As the years passed, some citizens continued to complain to the old king … but this time, the old king did not tell the king about these complaints.

The kingdom grew, and the old castle felt confining, so the king built a new castle, which made the citizens happy.

Because the kingdom continued to expand, the king invited a prince from another land to help run things.  The king and the prince served together well, and the kingdom continued to prosper.

The king convened meetings of the knights of the round table, who provided advice on kingdom matters.  Everybody got along well.

But one day, due to a scarcity of resources, the knights began making decisions without the king’s knowledge.  Life in the kingdom became tense.  The king became frustrated.

The king and queen went on a journey to help people in another land.  When they returned, the knights took the queen and locked her in the dungeon, claiming she had broken kingdom laws.

The knights told the king that the queen must abdicate or they would abdicate instead.

The king was caught in the middle.  While he loved his queen, he also loved the kingdom.  The queen did not believe she had broken any laws and chose not to abdicate.

Meanwhile, friends of the king asked the knights if they could meet to discuss the situation.  The knights said yes …  then no … then yes … then no.

And then one night, the prince left the kingdom, riding off into the night for another land.

The king asked a counselor from a distant land to advise him.  During this time, the queen became very ill, worrying the king greatly.

After threatening to leave several times, the knights finally departed, causing the king to weep.  He loved the knights and could not understand why they put the queen in the dungeon.

Since the king now lacked knights, he asked several citizens to serve as temporary knights and give him counsel.  The king also asked the counselor to come to the castle and give him advice.  The counselor agreed.

The king called a meeting to tell the citizens that the prince and knights had left the kingdom.  When the king made his announcement, he was shocked by the reaction of the people … some of whom now wanted the king banished.

The king stayed in the kingdom, but was asked not to come near the castle so the temporary knights could choose permanent ones.

While the king waited, he and the queen heard rumors that were untrue and hurt them deeply.  Some of the rumors persist to this day.

The rumors were ultimately started by a dragon known for deceit and destruction who had also harmed other castles in the region.

The king decided to leave the kingdom … because he loved his wife and wanted her healthy … and because he loved the kingdom and wanted its citizens to be joyful and prosperous.

The king gave a final speech to the people in the castle.  The king and queen then said goodbye to the people they loved … and still love … very much.

The king and queen journeyed to a distant land to live … and learned more about why they were driven from the kingdom.

They learned that the queen was put in the dungeon so the king would leave the kingdom.

They learned that the charges against the queen were untrue.

They learned that the old king had been working with the knights and prince to banish the king from the kingdom.

They learned that this kind of tragedy happens to other kings in other kingdoms.

So they decided to do something about it.

The king decided to tell his story … consulting with experts … so the knights and citizens of other kingdoms would know what to do whenever parties conspired to banish a king from their kingdom.

The king and queen gained wisdom and strength from their experience.  They made plans to help other kings and knights and kingdoms so they do not have to go through similiar heartaches.

And they hope that everyone in a kingdom will unite to fight the dragon instead of each other.

They ask for your prayers and encouragement in this new endeavor.

And if a similar situation happens in your kingdom, they pray that the knights and citizens follow the constitution of the kingdom rather than make up their own rules.

May your king and kingdom be abundantly blessed until the real King returns.

(Since this is my 200th blog post, I thought I’d do something a little creative.  Thanks for reading!  On to 300 …)