Long live the Queen

 Long live the Queen.

       And indeed, she did.

I am sure that the younger generations are wondering what is the big deal, all of the pomp and parades and honor given to this 96 year old woman. 

With all the craziness of the world, the fighting, chaos, wars (plural), somehow we all knew everything would still work out all right, because there was still the Queen.  Among all the leaders in the past and now in the present, Queen Elizabeth was the sensible one and the voice of grace and reason -- the whisper in the midst of shouting, deception and discord, serious when the situation called for it, and then pulling out a marmalade sandwich out of her purse when she met with royalty like Paddington Bear. The world is hungry for leaders like that.  We'll miss you, Elizabeth.

No matter her high position, she was never one to draw attention to herself.  I always felt like she would rather that queen was not capitalized.  It was not who she was but what she did.  It was her assignment -- her anointing and appointing -- as each of us bear in some dimension.   She was faithful to her assignment.  And wore an appropriate hat -- and attitude-- to every situation.  She brought something different to the table.

As a teenager, she endured the incessant bombing of London -- every night for six full months-- as the world as she knew it teetered on destruction. It appeared that Hitler was going to take over the world.  And then at war's end, at the mere age of 25 when losing her father, she inherited the British Empire.  She was not perfect.  But she was faithful in what was placed before her and even the crown placed on her head.  

As a newly appointed queen, she visited Chicago for the dedication of the Buckingham Fountain.  I was a tiny little girl holding my grandmother's hand in that crowd.  I remember the red carpet rolled out as far as I could see.  Even then, people flocked about her, not because she was so important but she was greatly admired.

She was not some special kind of person.  She was a faithful one.  She approached her responsibilities with grace, and she loved people selflessly. And history called for that a lot.

I often thought that all the pomp was a little embarrassing to her. She loved the Scottish countryside.  She loved dogs and children. She was the queen.  But she was also an ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances.  And she stepped to that often-difficult plate.

One of the news commentators last night, standing in the midst of a crowd in Edinburgh, remarked, "You can see with your eyes how much she was loved."  She walked with integrity through many troubled times.  And her gentle smile is what people will remember.

She is about to be written into dusty old history books.

But hopefully not forgotten.

Her life was not her own.  She served well and to the best of her abilities.

May integrity and love like that mark our lives as well.  We do not wear a crown to our job.  But everyday we serve in a Kingdom that will never end.

Do you realize about yourselves

    that Jesus Christ is in you?

                   2 Corinthians 13. 5

 May we all live graciously that way in whatever God places before us with peace and joy and a gentle smile for those on our paths.