Ready & Radiant

I wasn’t a girl who dreamt about her wedding day.

Growing up with 3 older brothers, I was more of a tomboy.

Give me jeans and sneakers, not dresses and heels.

So by the time I was engaged and had to pick out a wedding dress,

I was lost.

I had to learn a whole new vocabulary:

A-line, sheath, tea-length, empire, trumpet – isn’t that an instrument?

I also didn’t have a lot of time, since we decided on a short engagement.

Thanks to some helpful ladies in my life,

I finally found a dress.

But it wasn’t perfect.

In fact, there was a lot of work to do.

One of the layers of material was yellowed – for an antique look.

The upper part of the dress (vocab word: bodice) needed a makeover.

It also was much too floofy (never learned the technical term for that one!)

Even though I had the dress, it needed to be transformed.

Thankfully, I had a dear relative who was creative, speedy, and amazing at tailoring.

By the time the wedding day arrived, the dress was ready.

Perfect.

Never in my life had I felt so beautiful.

I had my hair and makeup done,

but until I put on that white dress,

it wasn’t clear who was the bride.

As soon as I did, everyone knew.

The bride was ready.

And she was radiant.

As excited as I was to be marrying my earthly groom,

Both of us were looking forward to another wedding.

We knew this was a picture.

A gorgeous, sweet picture of what’s to come.

One day, a completely radiant Bride will be presented to her Groom.

Her dress will be spotless. Perfect. No wrinkles.

Bright and clean.

That day will be sheer joy.

But until then, it’s clear there’s work to do.

The Bride’s dress isn’t ready yet.

There are some big stains and holes… clearly there are repairs to do.

Bitterness, division, fear, anger, lust.

Major tailoring needs to happen.

But He’s working on it.

And He’s amazing at what He does.

My groom, Joshua, wasn’t the one to fix up my dress.

But Christ is the One sanctifying His bride.

He’s at work – making us holy and blameless.

The day I walked down the aisle to Joshua was emotional.

My tears threatened to ruin my mascara, but I didn’t care.

It was the moment I’d been waiting for, and he had, too.

My eyes well up with the same emotion as I think of that day to come.

When we walk to our Bridegroom.

What anticipation, what joy, as He receives us.

He’s been waiting and working earnestly, and now we’re ready.

His Bride.

Spotless.

Perfect.

Radiant.

Because of Him.