The Prince Is Coming

The Prince of England was here this week. For Americans, the royalty of England has been a source of fascination. From the beginnings of the Revolution to the abdication by King Edward the VIII in public fascination, the British Royals bring intense scrutiny all over the world. In reality, the Queen of England and her famous family have little to no power, but their influence is obvious and everywhere. For Australians, when royalty visits, it is like a national celebration. Because it is relatively difficult for the reigning royalty to shadow the shores of Australia, the media circus was at its finest. Prince William graced the pages of every newspaper and television, and this American watched and read with great interest.

I remember when Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married. Why this was such a media spectacle was beyond me at the time (I think I was only seven) but perhaps in all of us is a little reverence for royalty. There was Prince Charles dressed in his finest formal military outfit and Lady Diana with the wedding dress from heaven. How she dragged that piece of clothing up through the church was amazing. Their carriage ride was seemingly from a fairy tale and the whole family watched with rapt attention on our sixteen inch, rabbit-eared TV the fairy tale wedding. Millions of people watched the ceremony (I can't imagine how nervous the pastor was) and my wish was to be part of the throng that welcomed the happy couple afterwards. It wasn't long afterwards that Princess Diana became pregnant - a boy who they named William. His has been a life of scrutiny and he has dealt with the invariable crush of media very well.

Prince William was here in Australia this last weekend visiting the various areas affected by natural disasters this last year. His first stop was in the north of the country where Hurricane Yasi decimated the crops and destroyed the livelihoods of some of the Australians. Then, on to Brisbane to talk with locals about how life has changed, how tenuous our existence is. Finally, the Prince of made his way west to the small farming villages around Grantham and then on to Toowoomba.

In the wake of his visit, a transformation has taken place. The newspapers have catalogued the faces of those who lost everything during the storms. A woman in Cairns was shown grieving the loss of the source of her stability; the people of Grantham, who became internationally famous when the town they called home was violently washed away, were pictured sifting through the rubble; the city of Brisbane, thousands of homes destroyed, was a carrier of grim faces.

But then the Prince arrived. The people of Cairns stated that the sun came out for the Prince - it was only their second day of sunshine this year. The people of Grantham and Toowoomba waited patiently on the future king and at his arrival, tears turned to joy, sadness to smiles - there was a rejuvenation of life. To his credit, the Prince did not hold back from the people of Australia - just the opposite. Prince William shook hands, smiled, touched people, consoled them in their loss and brought grateful relief from the shock of recent months. He spoke kind words, he held no sympathy in reserve and I was impressed by the very 'pastoral' way he took these people into his heart and gave them comfort.

Christine asked me if I would like to go see Prince William when he arrived in Grantham. It was raining that day; I wanted to mow the lawn; I had a thousand and one things to do to make an excuse to not make an appearance in Grantham (which is less than ten miles from our house). Surely the Prince will have enough to do without making time for this American Aussie and his family. I might get to glimpse him from afar - see the sun shining off his head (we have very similar haircuts, I think) - I had enough to do at home. These excuses ran through my head and I verbalized them to Christine. She, too, wanted to go see him - it could be a once in a lifetime event - and yet we hesitated. Life gets in the way, bills to pay, excuses to make - he'll come back some day and then we'll go.

My response to Prince William is a lot like how I deal with King Jesus. It should be simple to perk up and make the trip to devote myself to the King each day, to take a trip into solitude to find a few moments where I can be comforted, touched, smiled at in the presence of the sovereign and yet time and time again I make excuses; life gets in the way. He'll be back some other time when it's more convenient for me, and I forget how life changing it is when we continue our relationship with the King. He comes to us, not the other way around; we don't need to feel guilt but a sense of excitement when presented with the opportunity that the King is right around the corner. He has time for all of us, not just those that are struggling or having difficulties, but Jesus wants to share in all of life's moments.

Prince William's visit was a beautiful thing. I pray that King Jesus' stay is even more beautiful.