- Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
Did anyone else notice that Prince William wore exactly what the Handsome Prince is wearing at his wedding in Cinderella? The fairy tale has truly come to life right before my eyes.
And my heart rejoices.
As I sat on my couch with a huge, goofy grin on my face, I realized that this wedding was doing something internally that no other wedding I have watched has ever done. Something inside of my chest was being released, was being reborn. Every so often, something, some event, awakens this in me. I needed to press in, to find what this was.
As the excitement settled to the bottom of the glass of my mind, I could see my thoughts and feelings a bit more clearly. What was remaining in this glass was the deep-seated knowledge that I was created for something more, something not "common" by any definition. My heart had found a bit of home, a bit of comfort, a bit of affirmation in watching the Royal Wedding.
For a few minutes of the hours of spectacle, my husband watched with me. (He actually did not change the channel during one of the wedding replay specials.) I was more than a little intrigued . . . my sports-loving, explosion-addicted, shoot-up-the-bad-guys husband was actually watching the Royal Wedding willingly.
So, I had to ask him. What does watching this stir in you? What is going on internally as you watch this? His answer resonated with my own, but from the male perspective. What gripped him was the pomp, the tradition, the regalia, the formality, the honor of the soldiers, the history apparent, the duty that was called forth on an occasion such as this.
Both he and I found the innate knowledge of "something more" called forth in us as we watched.
But of course this would rise up in me, and indeed should rise up in me. It is truly woven into the very fabric of who I am, woven there by the One who made me, placed there so that I would thirst for Him. He actually tells us that He has "placed eternity in [our] hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) In the truest sense, this -- this wedding of a commoner to a prince, this rise from nobody to somebody, this calling forth of beauty, this honor, this regalia -- this is what I was made for.
When He speaks of me in His Word, He says things like,
My darling, you are lovely in every way . . . You are a royal crown of beauty in My hand . . . I delight in you . . . I rejoice over you . . .I celebrate and sing because of you . . . You shine like the sun . . . I, the King, desire your beauty . . . you are all glorious within . . . I have sought you out . . . You are clothed in the finest fabric, bright and clean . . . wrapped in it . . .Nothing can separate you from my love . . . I have fought for you and won . . . You are mine and no one can take you from me.*
But I have several friends who have really struggled with this event. They have spat out words like "dumb" and "stupid" and "waste of money."
It makes my heart sad to hear them say things like this, not so much because it dampens my joy but because such a strong negative reaction tells me that there are wounds somewhere in each of these women and men that have never been healed -- a lie spoken to them that has killed this part of their heart. They have been told somewhere along the line (either by a person they respect or by their own disappointed heart) that there is nothing "more," that fairy tales do not come true, and that it is silly to believe that sort of thing. But I can tell by the energy of their reactions that these false beliefs create a dissonance in their souls. And well they should.
There is a reason that every culture around the globe has royalty (and when their is void -- as in America -- the culture creates their own version of royalty, i.e. our Hollywood A-listers). There is a reason that we, as humans, feel the need to look up to someone, to admire beauty, to long for the happy ending, to thrill at the sense of the heroic, of doing one's duty.
These things were written into our very beings. They call us to Him.
Will I receive a royal crown on earth? No. Did I marry into a royal family? No. But I have already begun to taste a bit of what I will receive when I finally meet my Love face-to-face, and it is far better than anything this earth can possibly come up with. Oh, to see the love in His eyes! I just can't wait for that moment.
But for now, I can rejoice fully in the "tastes" of heaven that I get here on earth. I can delight in the beauty, in the fairy tale, in the honor and call to something more. I can let my heart swell with the joy of the event. I can allow it to create a desire, a yearning, a thirst. And then I can turn to Him and tell Him how excited I am for our day to come . . .
And what a comfort that is to remember here in my common world.
* Song of Solomon 4:7, Isaiah 62:3-5, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 34:5, Psalm 45:11 , 13, Isaiah 62:12, Revelation 19:8, Isaiah61:10, Romans 8:39, John 19:30, John 10:28-29
Beautifully written. Thank you!
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