Here Comes the Bride

Breathtaking! That’s the word that popped into my head when my daughter walked out of the dressing room wearing her bridal gown.

Standing tall, face aglow, she caressed the ivory gown which minutes earlier had hung limp, lifeless on a plastic manikin. As my daughter studied her image in the mirror, her countenance was transformed like Cinderella rising from the ashes. The bridal gown, an organza symbol of true love found, and girlhood dreams come true.

Looking for my approval, my daughter noticed the “mother of the bride’s” dry tissue. But I was too stunned for tears. Love, pride, and flashbacks to a new-born daughter wrapped in a pink blanket, and later, at the age of six, wearing a princess costume, squeezed my heart just like the child who once squeezed my fingers with her tiny hand.

And while I sat there silent, grinning, hoping my daughter read in my eyes what words could not convey, I thought of the Bride of Christ and how splendid His church will look when Jesus, the Bridegroom, returns for us some day.

Which led me to wonder: Am I longing for Jesus to return like my daughter longs for her groom to return to California for the wedding?

Do I search God’s Word each day, the way she savors the groom’s hand-written letters?

Am I faithful, keeping myself pure for the One who loves me with an everlasting love? Or do I run after other gods I think will satisfy my heart?

Am I ready for Christ’s return, busy about my Heavenly Father’s business? Or do I only pursue my earthly agenda?

In Revelations 19: 6-9 we read about Christ’s return:

“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’”

Preparing for my daughter’s wedding has been all-consuming, and often robs me of quiet time when I could be still and enjoy the intimacy of knowing God.

And yet, God has used this wedding to remind me that one glorious day, the bride of Christ…..we fellow saints ….will rejoice at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

“I will take delight in you,” He says to us, “as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so I will rejoice over you,” (Isaiah   62:5)

So that we might say, “I am my beloved’s, and His desire is for me.” (Song of Solomon 7:10)

Author: Karen Foster

I'd like to say I've changed, but after decades of living, I still have the same four passions. My relationship with Jesus, spending time with family, attending live theater, and writing devotions & first-person stories about a loving, faithful God who reveals Himself in our every day circumstances. View all posts by Karen Foster