It’s 19 years ago today that the world woke up to find that beautiful Princess Diana had died in a car crash.
I remember that day, as if it were yesterday. We didn’t turn the news on that morning. After waking up and getting the children ready, we left for church. No one said anything before the service, but during it, a lady got up to pray before the offering was taken. She prayed something about a gardener passing as well as a princess. I thought that was a bit strange and wracked my brain to imagine what she could possibly mean. (Of course, this was 1997 and I couldn’t just whip out my cell phone and google it).
It was only when Pastor John got up to preach and opened his sermon with the words with something like, ‘who could imagine…’ and went onto paint the picture of a beautiful princess losing her life after an accident in a Paris tunnel.
What a shock. I was stunned. We hurried home after the service and spent the rest of the day glued to the TV, devastated as we watched the dramatic events of the night before being replayed over and over again.
I learned a few things through the life and death of Princess Diana.
1. Nothing is ever as it seems.
You watch the images, read the papers, scroll through the internet of famous people, but you never really know what’s going on behind the scenes. You don’t know what is going on in other people’s lives. It is even the same with the people in your life…those friendly faces of the people you call your friends…you may see every day…yet behind the closed door of their lives, things may not be all it appears to be. The dreadful circumstances of being hounded by the paparazzi, the gloomy depression of not being accepted by the royal establishment, the ongoing sage of their being ‘another person’ involved in her marriage, Princess Diana’s life was far from perfect or happy.
2. Outer beauty does not mean inner happiness.
Now that so many years have passed and so much has been written about the life and times of Diana, the Princess of Wales, we hear first hand how dismal her life really was. Plagued by an eating disorder, loneliness and a desperate sadness, her outer beauty belied an inner turmoil that ate away at her happiness. Watch out for your beautiful friends. Outer beauty doesn’t mean inner peace and contentment.
3. Just because you are rich and famous, it doesn’t mean you are happy.
Most people long for rich and fame. “If only” is often thought or even spoken. But the most famous face in the world did not result in happiness. And while married to Prince Charles, she would have had access to any amount of money or possessions, yet unhappiness plagued her. In recent times, it has been Jim Carrey who has made famous a quote that underlies this notion…
“I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they know that it’s not the answer”
“…have everything they ever dreamed of.” I could imagine that Princess Di had everything she ever dreamed of….to marry the future king of England; to be a Princess and one day Queen. To live in a palace; to have endless staff at your beck and call. That sounds like what fairy-tales are made of….yip. That’s because that’s what they are: ‘fairy-tales’. They are not the way to happiness. If there is to be a ‘happy ever after’ in that scenario, it’s not going to come from the circumstances of royal privilege. Rather it will come from a deeper place. It will come from the riches that this world cannot buy – inner peace; joy, happiness, laughter and contentment. You are very wealthy when you have these gifts. Cash in the bank is helpful but it’s not the full answer to happiness.
4. No matter how famous or protected, one day you will die.
And that’s the truth. No amount of security or protection could prevent Princess Diana from dying that night. No amount of top medical attention could keep her alive. She died at the age of 36 and will be, in our worldly eyes, eternally beautiful. Nothing can protect us from the inevitable. Death will come.
The only thing I know to do, is to be ready. The only way I know to be ready is to believe what the Bible says (Why You Can Believe The Bible) and the one central message of the Bible…that God wants a relationship with us. He wants us to know Him and to trust Him.
And so I do and in doing so, I know I’m ready to die. It really comes down to one of the most read Bible verses:
John 3:16:
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
In life, Princess Diana gave me a lot of pleasure, mainly in enjoying her beauty and the dream of her life. In death, she gave me understanding that life has a lot more to offer than the fairy-tale lead us to believe.
These are the days.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂