040: Wedding Finery

March 27, 2010
Colossians 3:1-17

Although I can be a little lazy about what I wear – some days are just sweats and t-shirt days – and I also can be a bit laid back about my wardrobe variety – I love backpacking because it usually limits my clothing options to about 8 different combinations – I do enjoy dressing up. I like the whole process – from being in crummy clothes (usually either work out clothes or PJs) to getting all cleaned up and scrubbed and coiffed and put together. I like wearing nice clothes and choosing an outfit that expresses what I want to express, and combining it with a hairstyle and make-up that fits my target goal. I’m not so good about picking shoes or accessories, but I’m working on it!

Today involved a lot of getting myself ready. The alarm went off about 5:50AM so I could get started on doing my hair and makeup for BriZ’s wedding. The ceremony was set for 11AM and we had to be at the chateaux by 9AM. With four of us getting reading in one bathroom, I wanted to be done and out of the way as soon as possible.

Once we got to the chateaux, we helped Bri get into her wedding gown and finished primping and fluffing and hairspraying and doing make-up touch-ups. It was windy and cold outside – I think the bridesmaids were about as blue as their dresses by the time we came back inside – so then we had to do additional fixing.

It might sound like a real pain, but really, it was fun. I think part of what made it so fun, though, was the anticipation of the wedding ceremony yet to come. I’ve probably mentioned it before, but I’m a HUGE fan of anticipation… I love to have something to look forward to. Not in a “I can’t wait until that happens – it’s going to be the best time of my life” way, but rather in a “I want to savor what is coming for as long as possible, so I’ll anticipate it to help it stretch out longer, by making it feel like it’s almost already here…”

Part of savoring the events to come included the getting dressed and prepared – making ourselves look like what we were wanting to present during the actual ceremony and reception after. During a quick moment today of passing by the mirrors in the bride’s room, I had the thought of how we, as Christians, are called to put on the characteristics of Christ in preparation for his return and, in a sense, to exhibit to the world that we are preparing for his arrival.

In my head, it’s sort of like getting prepared for a wedding. Jesus’s return is when the ceremony gets going, but in the meantime, we need to get ready for it; we need to demonstrate that we ARE going to be a part of that service – a BIG part of it: we get to be presented to Jesus as the glowing, elegant, beautiful, refined, lovely and beloved bride – and now is our prep time.

I want to remember that all of my life – every moment, even lazy ones in workout clothes or flannel PJs – are part of my preparation for Jesus. I can be clothing myself with clothes that will take his breath away and captivate him – clothes that bring him honor and glory.