Thoughts on a Royal Wedding

Ok, I know that everyone and their second cousin has put in their 2 cents worth on the Royal nuptials, but I would like to add another cent or two.
Most of what I have been hearing has been mocking, hateful, and jeering at our neighbors across the pond. Most of what I have been reading on facebook posts and hearing from the community folk is poking fun at the lavishness and "gaudiness" of the whole spectacle. Call me sentimental, but I sort of have a different take on it all.


 It has been 30 years since I watched Diana walk down that same red carpet with that train-length train, with bells peeling and horns sounding...I think it is high time to experience such pageantry again...Talk about reality TV, and yes, I must admit, I set my DVR for it.


It says something to me that the Royal Wedding was watched by 2 BILLION people all across the world. What were they wanting to see? Well, I doubt if 2 billion people would tune in for the latest Paris fashion show. What about the Super Bowl? I don't think so...I think people watched because, we, in our MTV and commercialism-saturated culture, long to see something beautiful...We yearn for the glorious... I  believe God created our hearts and souls to long for such beauty and pageantry. Why do we get choked up when we stand humbly the foot of mighty mountains, or feel so small next to the crashing waves of the ocean? It's the majesty of God's creation.

He has created us for a world not here on earth, but one so spectacular, that if our eyes can catch only a partial glimpse of what that world holds for us, our eyes are fixed on it. Our souls are created to long to see the lavishness and splendor..And yesterday- our eyes were fixed....Our ears were created to long to hear the angelic voices singing 'Holy, holy, holy', and our hearts to beat a little faster when we hear the bells peeling and horns blasting. And yesterday- our ears and hearts were fixed. 

Most  weddings today are all about getting the ceremony over with and getting the party started afterward. I am all for the party and celebration, but the ceremony yesterday made me stop and think about how we take our wedding vows so flippantly today. The holiness of such a moment seems to be lost today..Yesterday, in Westminster Abbey,  it wasn't. You could feel the holiness of the moment, as it was meant to be. I would urge  those reading this to read the transcript of the ceremony, not just the vows. A great reminder of how seriously God takes marriage, AND weddings. We were reminded that Christ's first miracle was at a wedding.


In a world where nothing lasts but for about 5 minutes, The Royal Wedding was a breath of fresh air, to watch a tradition that has been in place for 1400 years. I believe seeing such beauty and pageantry is good for the soul. God created us to enjoy beautiful things, as a precursor to what we will enjoy when we are with Him one day... I was awed and inspired by the men and boys choirs voices as they soared through that grand 1,000 year old cathedral. Today, the post-modern culture and commercialism have jaded our hearts from appreciating anything with truth, worth, or real meaning in our society. It was refreshing and lovely.


So try to see the Royal Wedding through a different prism other than the costly extravagance. You see, one day I get to be a member of the ULTIMATE marriage ceremony and wedding party, where  not a prince, but the KING Himself, waiting there to greet me. And my name is not just on the guest list, but I get to be His BRIDE! There is promised a lavish feast such as we have never tasted, and there will likely be music such as our ears have never heard in the grandest cathedrals. There may be solid gold plates and cups, pearl tabletops and diamond napkin rings, and gold embossed place cards on the table for every Believer.  I can get choked up just imagining it! He told us He was going there to prepare it for our Royal arrival.


So, you see, we are not so different from Kate. We are commoners who get to one day experience the real life fairy-tale of marrying the King and partaking in ALL His riches! All He has will be ours.  And we DO get to live happily ever after!