One of life’s happiest moments is when a girl becomes engaged and begins planning her wedding. The first thing she wants to do is go shopping for a wedding gown, a once-in-a-lifetime treat. I remember doing this myself 45 years ago with half a dozen of us crammed into the dressing room, a party to be sure.
Most recently I got in on daughter Linnea’s gown- shopping in 2003. Her two younger sisters came along, and the sales lady included them in all the happy hubbub.
Our upcoming family wedding will be for Mary and Bervin’s daughter Stina in September. She’s currently on her quest for just the right gown, and yesterday she let me tag along on her shopping trip.
This tall, slender girl looked lovely in every design she modeled, but she had clear ideas of what was acceptable and what wasn’t and is holding out for her dream dress.
Weddings are important. Of course it’s about the couple more than the dress, but a graceful white gown does stand for something. Though brides of Europe and the States traditionally wore darker (more practical) wedding outfits until the late 1800’s, white became popular after Queen Victoria appeared in a lacy white wedding gown to marry Prince Albert.
White came to represent innocence and purity, and fancy gowns became one-use-only expenses considered appropriately lavish for such a momentous day.
It’s interesting that God uses the image of a bride in Scripture. Most make reference to Jesus as the groom and believers as his collective bride. This might be difficult symbolism for a man to grasp, since he never becomes an earthly bride, but we women can easily fit ourselves into such a picture. And when God talks about the bride “preparing herself for the groom,” we get it.
But how do we prepare to marry Jesus? Certainly he’s not talking about going shopping for a gown or putting money down on a caterer. Scripture actually says he’ll supply the wedding clothes, the food, and everything else.
Instead he wants us to prepare ourselves by focusing on our hearts, completely abandoning ourselves to a love relationship with him unlike any other. No doubt he’s hoping the bridal imagery will show us what to shoot for: loyal devotion to him, an ongoing effort to please him, and a desire to spend eternity with him. He also wants us to know how eager he is to embrace us as his bride.
Earthy weddings are important to God, and he offers to be a part of each union. Nevertheless, every couple routinely has ups and downs along the way. But when it comes time to be the bride of Christ, our marriage is going to be absolutely perfect.
“As a groom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:5)
Praising and Praying with Mary
- Though the last 24 hours have been dominated by terrible nausea and vomiting, I praise the Lord that tonight it’s lessening.
- Please pray against such fierce nausea after chemo #4.
- I’m so thankful next week is a week off!
My best advice for Mary is to complain loudly. Nausea is not a given. There are great drugs available for nausea, but the medical staff needs to know she’s struggling. This is not a time to be stoic! Kytril was very effective for me, but it was VERY expensive. Fortunately my insurance covered all but $1 per pill – my recollection is that it was $60/pill, 18 years ago. It was the only thing that made me feel human. Make sure the medical staff understands how much nausea Mary is having – they may be able to help.
I am praying for you, Mary.
Beautiful post. Praying for Mary’s strength.