Welcome to Make A Difference Mondays, a place to get intentional about starting our weeks focused on the positive and put our heads together to dream up ways we can make a difference in this world!
This week I’m excited to tell you about one woman who made a difference around the world and left a legacy deeper and wider than many of us fully realize. I know I sure didn’t grasp the full extent of Princess Diana’s humanitarian efforts across the globe before yesterday. I was 17 years old when she died & hadn’t yet paid too much attention to her life & work before her passing. So glad to have a much deeper understanding and appreciation for her now, and to have taught my girls the same!
Yesterday my girls and I had a mommy-daughter date to
The Cincinnati Museum Center to see Diana, A Celebration exhibit. It just so happened to also be 1940s themed weekend at the museum too, so as a swing music/swing dancing lover, I could not wait to introduce my girls to all this goodness!
I think this article does a great job summarizing what to expect if you’re local and you’d like to try to make the trip to see this exhibit before it’s gone for good.
There were so many neat things to see in this exhibit, such as Princess Diana’s tiaras, wedding gown, and collection of formal wear dresses. But what I most enjoyed learning about was the depth and breadth of Diana’s advocacy and humanitarian work. A quote from Diana dated June 1997, just two months before her death reveals her heart here:
“Nothing brings me more happiness than trying to help the most vulnerable people in society, it is a goal and an essential part of my life, a kind of destiny, whoever is in distress can call on me I will come running wherever they are.”
Seeing those exact words written on a wall, on display for all to see was so encouraging to me. They made me smile with such appreciation, but all the more so when I could see my daughters inspired by her passion as well. Given the fact we read that amazing quote in one of the last sections of the exhibition, and we had just left the section covering the Princess’ untimely death – I was absolutely still tearing up. Yep, I’m pretty sure I was the only person crying watching the summary video of Diana’s death and funeral with the lyrics to Goodbye England’s Rose, which is a version of Candle in the Wind adapted for Princess Diana’s funeral by Elton John.
Just as her wedding was watched by an estimated global TV audience of 750 million, an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world watched the funeral procession as the people’s Princess was laid to rest. I can honestly say after spending two hours captivated by learning about her life and death, I now fully understand why Princess Diana was adored by millions around the world and will be missed and remembered, always.
In the final section of the exhibit, we read yesterday that 30,000 condolence books were filled with messages in remembrance of Diana’s life and in honor of her passing. Let that sink in for a moment. Not 30,000 messages, but 30,000 books! It was remarkable to see a few dozen of them and read the heartfelt messages that filled them. There was also a book available to be signed with messages of remembrance by museum visitors and oh how I loved the sweet messages my girls wrote themselves! I asked a museum attendant and she confirmed the book will indeed be sent to the Royal family 🙂 We marveled thinking about Diana’s family reading our words, and all the others written all these years after her passing, at each stop of the world tour of this exhibit celebrating her life.
Though we don’t often slow down enough to think about it much, the fact is we will all be remembered in some way. How do you want to be remembered? How will you use your life to make a difference that others will remember? We are not all princesses’ like Diana, but we are all daughters of the King, who created each of us for great purpose!
We are all writing a story with our lives each day that we live them. So why not ask yourself, are you living the story you’d like to be told for generations? If not – what changes can you make today so that you might live the life you were created to live? In what ways can you use your influence to make a difference, just as Diana used her platform to make a difference?
As a young mother, Diana died a tragic and untimely death. But the truth is, nothing is ever wasted in God’s economy. To that end, I leave you with the words to a beautiful poem, The Weaver which was displayed in the final room of Diana, A Celebration. I hope you find these words as encouraging as we did!
Make A Difference Mondays is a weekly linkup designed to encourage and inspire us to live each day on purpose—making a meaningful difference in someone’s life in even the smallest of ways. There will be five women regularly co-hosting this link-up that will appear on all five of our blogs and we also have three wonderful co-hosts who will fill in as guest hosts on the occasional day that a regular co-host is not able to post. Read on to learn more about our vision, mission, and how to link up!
Mission
Our mission is to provide a consistent gathering place for like-minded women to build online connections, share inspiration, and provide mutual encouragement and accountability as we seek to live intentionally and make a difference in the lives of those around us.
Vision
Every Monday we will invite bloggers to link-up any blog posts that encourage women to live life on purpose. This could include testimonies or goals from your own life, small acts of kindness or service, creative tips or ideas for showing consideration to others — the possibilities are endless. Our objective is to use our God-given time and resources to His glory!
The Make A Difference Mondays team has created two ways to keep us all connected – now we have our own facebook community group to stay in touch beyond the blog posts AND we also have a new #MADMlinkup group Pinterest board! We will be pinning our favorite posts from the linkup that inspire and encourage us to make a difference. We are so grateful for you and would love for all of you to join us for fellowship in the above linked community group and you can follow the Pinterest board right here to watch for your posts: Make A Difference Mondays Pinterest Board
Be sure to grab the sparkly linkup graphic or grab the same image in the square version from the sidebar for your posts and/or include a link back here within your posts. Any on-topic posts are welcomed, no matter how old and no matter how many! If you’re linking up a post here, would you be so kind as to reach out in the comments below? I love getting to know new people and it really helps to put a ‘name to the face’ and find you in the linkup 🙂 Maybe even mention the title of your post in your comment? Thanks friend!
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Yes! I love how you say that we aren’t all princesses but we were created for a purpose. We all have the ability to make a difference! Beautifully written!
The Diana exhibit was actually at a museum near us at some point of it’s tour. From reading what you wrote, I’m disappointed that I didn’t make a better effort to check it out. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and shared your experience with us!
Thanks so much Sarah! Indeed, we were all created for great purpose, just as she was. And yes, I hoped to give any readers that would have like to have seen it themselves the next best thing, “book report” version : )
Princess Diana really left a mark on a lot of people and will always be remembered in history books. She truly was an inspiration to a lot of people.
Indeed! Thanks for visiting She Lives Free : )
First, I love the idea of Make a Difference Mondays, what a wonderful idea. Two, you have me tearing up after reading this post. Such a wonderful person gone way too soon. Such an inspiration. Thanks for sharing. Too bad I don’t live closer, would have loved to go to that exhibit.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! So appreciate you stopping by!
Dear Sybil,
This has to be one of my favorite posts on MADM. You said, “We are all writing a story with our lives each day that we live them.”, which is not an uncommon thought in my own thinking. I find though that I was more consumed with the mistakes in the living rather than the victories. Thinking about the poem you shared reminds me of another thought that has always come to combat the unproductive ones, He is the ultimate weaver and He will always take what was intended for bad turning it for good. He can make the worst of situations shine brightly for His glory and redeem every moment so that someone can be blessed.
The exhibit sounds amazing, btw, makes me wish we were nearby so we could visit.
Bless you!
Dawn
Thank you so much Dawn! Everything about your comment has encouraged me greatly today! Much love to you xoxo
Diana really left a legacy and hearing about people like her always make me look at my life. Am I doing all I can to be all I can be?
I love that you took your girls! What an impact this will have on their young hearts. 🙂
So appreciate this thoughtful comment! Thanks for sharing your encouraging thoughts with me! : )