Gwenllian

Hundreds of years ago a baby was born, a little girl. Her mother, Eleanor, died in birth. Tucked in the royal palace of Wales, her father Llywelyn, went out to fight the English king. A skirmish occurred and her father never returned to her. Instead, this baby eventually wound up in the custody of King Edward I and the English court. As a baby of royal birth, Edward’s own cousin, was put into a convent in Sempringham at the Gilbertine Priory.

It is a story that catches the imagination. Raised as a darling of the nuns, a little girl who does not know her heritage or birthrights, the nuns themselves may not have known. Yet, not even two hundred miles from the Welsh natural fortress of Snowdonia, there was a small nation full of people who knew that their prince had had a child. Can you not imagine the rumors, the stories spun over years?

I have wondered if Gwenllian ever received word from her people, from one of the Cymru who felt it their duty to tell their princess the truth. Did Edward ever doubt his choice? This was after all his own family member. There must have been great fear that the people would rally around this baby grown to be a woman and revolt against Edward’s rule. I wonder what the discussion was in the court. Did anyone stop and care about an infant that was imprisoned in a cloistered world by virtue of her birthright?

What birthright do I have as a child of the Most High King that I am letting myself be cloistered from, imprisoned away by bad choices, sin, humanity, foolishness, or not understanding. If someone could have slipped Gwenllian a letter explaining, would she have held it close as a part of her heritage or wept over what had been taken away? If I could look back at the alternatives, the what-ifs, would I weep at what could have been or be able to take comfort in knowing that God’s plan for me is perfect, that my short comings are not anything that can stop God. As I started out the day today, before I even got out of bed (I was reluctant to say good-bye to my pillow this morning), I was praying for the day, for the people that I remember in my prayers. I will pray also that God’s grace be upon my day and yours. That even though we all have our own prison we are in, that truth, grace, and wisdom will be given and received.