As many of you are aware, today was the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I take no interest in this personally and don't find a lot of worth in the whole affair. I told my wife today that when I compare the struggle with getting a job and keeping a roof over our heads or even getting a running car that it becomes a little disconcerting that their flower budget could've sustained my entire family very comfortably for the next 15 or 16 years (they reportedly spent $800,000 on flowers alone). And this is the way most men probably looked on the whole affair. At first appearance and thought it is a little foreign to our way of thinking as to why our wives have eagerly anticipated watching the wedding of people they have never met and more than likely never will. People that are impotent monarchs from a country that we don't even belong to. While this easily stands to show some of the differences that exist between men and women it does not show anything we were not already aware of. We are created with different personalities and characteristics and we tend to get excited over very different things.
But, what it does show is a key aspect to many, if not all, of our wives. The reason they were excited to see the wedding is because it is the embodiment of a romantic dream they have carried since they were little girls planning their grand weddings to their own Prince Charming in their minds and in their hearts. It is an element that they never fully let go of. Romance, as a display of love, is alive and well in the depth of their hearts and the fairy-tale wedding they witnessed today is a grand example of that romance realized. Most of them were never privileged enough to have even a small example of the wedding they watched on their TVs today. Yet, they are not covetous of Mrs. Middleton and the beautiful wedding she just had; no, they are as happy for her as if they were close personal friends... for she got to see her childhood dreams realized without compromise.
They watched with admiration and excitement the beauty of the whole affair. They appreciate the details, the elegance of the flowing wedding gown, the pomp and circumstance of it all, and they love every minute of it. Herein lies the breathtaking sincerity of our wives. They are able to view the world through the beauty they find in it in a way that most of us men never really do. Even when we get a semblance of it we never attain to the level that our wives, with their gentle hearts, have appreciated throughout their lives. For those that are growing in grace this is even more so. For the Lord enables a gentle spirit in them that brings a softness to this world which makes it a little more bearable for the rest of us.
I may look upon the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains and feel my soul stir with passion; I may look upon the ocean and feel the soothing touch of its calming waves; but, as hard as I try, I am never able to find the beauty that my wife can in watching a stranger's wedding, or able see a relatively unattractive person and comment with all sincerity that they are beautiful based only on their pleasant personality; I may never see a candlelit dinner as the emotionally satisfying event my wife does, and I guess that is fine, ultimately, because I am a man and should not behave too much like a woman. But, to the Christian man that is striving to love his wife as the Lord has loved the Church (Eph. 5:25), we must admit that our fondest memories with our wives will always be the intimate time we have spent with them on walks, or over dinner, or in talks we wouldn't dare to have with anyone else on this earth; thus, through their vision of beauty, we learn to at least have a small measure of nostalgic softness where we too are romantics.
So today, while they are enthralled over the grand wedding they have seen on TV, remember it is through this prism of beauty, with which they see the whole world, that they relish the occasion. If we are only able to grasp a small measure of what they so naturally possess then let it be that we marvel at the works of our Lord and find beauty and majesty in all of His creation; let it be that we are able to appreciate others and serve them well; let it be that we are able to find overwhelming beauty in the precious brides we have been given so that we may with all sincerity and belief look them in the eye and say, "thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair." (So. 1:15) We too may appreciate the beauty of this world if we only look upon our wives and see what the Lord has given to us to cherish and to behold until the day that we die.
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