Royal Wedding Connection

Today the eyes of the world are on London, England where Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting married. I am not the least bit interested in anything that has to do with this wedding (okay, maybe the cake). But as I am forced to watch the coverage that seems to be on every channel this morning I noticed one thing that each commentator has mentioned. They have all talked about William's mother, Princess Diana.

The context in which she is mentioned the most is the fact that the last time the public saw William going down the street he traveled this morning was during his mother, Diana's funeral procession.

The mention of William and Harry's mother makes me think of a series of events and facts that connect Paula and me to today's royal wedding. That link is directly through the late Princess Diana. Let me explain.

Back in the summer of 1997 I was living in Easton, Pennsylvania. I was working weekend mornings at a very small radio station in Bethlehem; a city 20 minutes away from my house. On Sunday morning August 31 I was driving to work when I heard the news of the death of Princess Diana on a talk radio station out of New York.

Although I wasn't actually on the air on the air that day (my job on Sundays was putting a 4 hour block of prerecorded religious shows on the air) I knew that if this news were true the listeners would be calling to find out about it. So I decided that I needed to get the correct information and announce it on the air in between the religious programs.

To get that information I signed on to the radio station's computer. I logged onto AOL to search for the facts about Diana's death. This was long before Googel existed and the only thing I knew about a computer was that you could sign onto AOL using a phone line connection.

After I gathered the basic information and presented it over the air I felt that I had fulfilled my responsibility. The morning then proceeded as usual. That meant I had large blocks of free time while the prerecorded programs played on the air. I had been intrigued by the other options I found while searching through AOL.

I went back and looked around the website to see what I could find. That's when I discovered the AOL chat rooms. I logged into the chat rooms and I was hooked. From that day forward I became obsessed with AOL chat rooms and the computer in general. That obsession would change my life over the next 2 years.

Three months later, in December 1997, on my own personal computer in my own home I met Paula in an AOL chat room. The rest is history.

Today as I write this post I find myself married to the Love of My Life, Paula, for going on ten years. I've lived in South Central Kentucky for over 12 years. Those are the two most important changes in my life since that August morning in 1997 but there are hundreds more. I won't even attempt to begin mentioning them. But anyone who knows me knows what I mean.

The transformation of my life never would have happened if it wasn't for that modern wonder: the personal computer. I would not have discovered its amazing abilities that specific day if I hadn't been searching for information about the tragedy that took Diana's life.

As if that's not enough of a connection between our marriage and today's royal wedding let me give you another fact that cannot be pure coincidence. Paula was born on the same as Princess Diana. They don't just share the same birthday. They were born on the exact same day, July 1, 1961. Isn't that amazing?

So this morning the world is watching a ceremony that joins England's future king and queen in matrimony. What I'm watching is a second generation reminder of God's providence in my life. Because even though it may take a few long stretches of reason to make the connection I've just made; I can't help but be convinced that its a valid one.

The connection just shows me that even though we are oblivious to His presence, and even rebel against Him, because we are His children, God is always working in our lives. I truly believe that it was His sovereign will at work in my life that led me from where I was in August 31, 1997 to where I am today. He used a series of thousands and thousands of elements and events to bring Paula and I together. I find that a love story that's truly a fairy tale come true.