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Looking in the mirror, I think to myself, 'This is the one.' It was the first wedding gown that caught my eye and the first one I tried on. I took several dresses to the dressing room but there was simply no comparison. My matron of honor – Mom, agreed. My parents would be the ones that were footing the bill for it. The price tag however, was far more than I would have ever expected them to spend. It was extravagant. It was not practical... but Mom really wanted me to have that dress. It was not long before I found myself saying 'yes to the dress'.
I had been dreaming of my wedding gown since the day I posed for my first 'bridal' picture. I was dressed in a quilted satin robe, plastic high heels, and my 'veil' – my mom's sheer headscarf held in place by an empty butter cup. It is but a faint memory to me as I look at that black and white Polaroid picture. The photograph taken by my Dad, is of his little girl playing dress-up one morning. It would not be until decades later that the dream came true.
I had only planned to be shopping that day not making a purchase. Nevertheless, within a couple of hours, the measurements would be taken and the dress would be ordered. Quite out of character for someone who never even wants to make a decision on where to go for lunch. This decision however, was an easy one. It was not like any dress I had ever envisioned myself wearing. The fabric was ivory satin with an elaborately beaded bodice and a long detachable lace-trimmed train. It was far more elegant. It was beautiful. Weeks later the dress arrived – no alterations necessary. It was my perfect wedding dress.
Isaiah 61:10 (NIV) I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
My 'decision' for Christ was an easy one for me as well. Though not 'raised in the church', we did attend on occasion. My brother and I also attended Sunday school on a semi-regular basis. In spite of the irregular attendance and instruction, I am thankful that God has blessed me with strong faith. It has simply always been a part of who I am. I didn't 'choose' to believe the Bible was Truth. I just knew in my heart that it was.
Unlike my perfect wedding gown, my 'robe of righteousness' does not fit me perfectly. It is not practical and it is so much more costly than the price of my gown. It has cost Jesus His life... but He really wants me to have it. Assessing my 'goodness' would quickly reveal that I do not fill it out properly. The robe is far too big for me. It just hangs on me as if it were made for someone else. The robe however, needs no alterations. I do. I need to grow into it.
Though my faith has required little effort, it has not been so with my obedience. Through the years, God has been patiently making His alterations to me.... He will continue to do so until the day I am in His presence. Through prayer, reading His word and by following the guidance of His Holy Spirit, each day He monitors my progress making the necessary alterations. My faith gets a little bit bigger. I am being altered to fit that robe of righteousness. As I grow in faith nourished by the bread of life, I fill out the robe a little bit more every day. It will never fit perfectly though, until the day I stand with Jesus before God.
John 6:47-49 (NIV) 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life.
It is with sadness I can imagine Jesus saying, 'No Father, we get did not get her alterations completed.' Yet in the next moment, what indescribable joy there will be. – That moment when I then hear Him say, ' but they are now... I have finished them.'
In Jesus, my robe will be perfectly tailored.
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