She was inadequate.
Utterly unworthy.
As a young queen, she had watched her husband with awe and admiration. The king was bold, brave, wise. . . everything a king should be. Her beloved husband was kind, compassionate, yet still a ruler. Someone the entire kingdom looked up to.
Yet as she stood, waiting to go out before her people, her legs felt week and trembling. Her shoulders pinched with the pain of the stress she was under. Her eyes were dry and her heart throbbed hard in her ears, reverberating through her aching head with an intensity that made her stomach roil.
She never thought she would see this day. The thought of it had never even entered her conscience. Ruling the kingdom in her husband’s stead was so overwhelming to her that her mind could not comprehend it.
When she had received the news that her husband had died, the bottom of her world had fallen away. Her mind had felt much like the inky black of her heavy silk dress looked. Deep, cavernous, dizzying. When the horror and shock had worn away, the sorrow had come with a vengeance. She had prayed and with the Lord’s help, staved off the overflow of emotions that sought to drown her. He had given her strength sufficient for the time.
But now as she waited for the coronation, the moment when she would be made queen, thoughts flitted through her head like a swarm of bees in their hive. Constantly busy, making her dizzy with the randomness and confusion with which they swarmed. For one fleeting moment, she wondered if she might faint, and with a silent cry, her heart reached desperately to her heavenly father. She knew she was not alone, but the feeling of being alone was enough to overwhelm her.
Where are you?
Here my child. Be still and know that I am God. I will be with you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Peace flooded her being and her heart calmed, the throbbing slowing till she felt rested and calm. The enemy might have thought that they had the upper hand, killing her husband and sending a young, inexperienced queen to rule in his stead. They might think that the kingdom would go to ruin. They might think that she would fail and the kingdom would fall into their hands. They might think that they would win. But they were wrong.
If God was for her, then who could be against her?
With God, she would win.

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This may be one of my favorite writing prompts ever. The drama of the black dress really inspired me and my heart is totally wrapped up in this little snippet. I hope it touches you as much as it did me!

Let me know what you though of this prompt in the comments! I love hearing from you all!

By God’s Grace,

Victoria