I got up early on Saturday morning with the intention of going to the gym, but my clothes were still damp in the dryer, so I checked in on the royal wedding just as Prince William and Prince Harry were arriving at Windsor Castle. The cloudless day, the blue skies, and the lush green countryside made for the perfect backdrop. Watching the two young men walk to the chapel side by side, I couldn’t help but think of their late mother Diana, Princess of Wales. I’m sure she was on their minds as well.
I was particularly touched by the reading given by Diana’s sister, Lady Jane Fellowes, from the Song of Solomon:
“My beloved speaks and says to me: ‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.’
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly scorned.”
I love the idea of love transcending death – the love of those who’ve passed written on our hearts for eternity. The reading also reminded me of Ecclesiastes 3 and how there is a time for everything: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. The world watched Prince Harry struggle after the death of his mother, but Saturday, May 19, 2018, was his day in the sun and I think everyone watching on the “telly” felt it too.
I’ve been watching a pair of bluebirds who’ve been making a home in a birdhouse in our backyard since late March. Yesterday, for the first time, I heard the hatchlings inside! I also found an abandoned egg left on the ground beneath the birdhouse. After a little research, I discovered it was most likely not viable. But oh, the promise of those hatchlings! My own two princes came outside to listen with me. I couldn’t help but think, “The time of singing has come…”
Jill Prouty 