Bridal Beauty

Earlier this month, I had the joy of reuniting with some precious girls from a youth group. Many of them, knowing my purity testimony, asked about married life and I was able to tell them just how wonderful it is! We talked of purity, of relationships, and of the wedding day. MINE was such a beautiful and glorious day! Thinking back on it today, I began thinking of all the things I did to make myself beautiful for my wedding.

The night before the big day, I deep conditioned my hair. I polished my toe nails and scrubs the balls of my feet until they were smooth. I had already gone to get a manicure so my fingers and hands were ready! I washed my face and put on a facial mask. The next morning, I brushed, scrubbed, buffed, shaved, moisturized, and polished. I went to the hair salon and got my hair pulled into a beautiful curled updo. Then, I took care in putting my makeup on just so! I highlighted, I concealed, I blushed, and I outlined. I dabbed myself with perfume. I donned my gorgeous dress, slipped into my pretty shoes, and put on my jewelry. On our wedding night, it was no different. After arriving at our hotel, I went to the bathroom to change. While I was in there, preparing for our sacred and long-awaited night, I fixed my hair, brushed my teeth, and tried to look and smell sweet and desirable.

You may ask, "Why did you go to all that trouble?"

It seems like a lot for just one day. But it was THE DAY. And I wanted to look perfect for my groom. I wanted him to be captivated by my beauty. I wanted to be pleasing to him. Most any girl would agree that when they come to their wedding ceremony and wedding night, they want to look PERFECT!

With all that said, I have to say that we, as Christians, should do the same spiritually. I went to a lot of trouble for my wedding day. I had my hair done by a professional. I made sure my wedding gown was clean, pressed, and perfect. I took care to ensure my veil held no wrinkles. My shoes? They had to be clean and white, without a trace of dirt. On our wedding night, I did not throw on sweat pants and an old t-shirt. I adorned myself with a beautiful gown, clean and white. My spiritual state should be the same.

When Jesus Christ enters into your life, you are a bride! You are HIS! From that moment on, you have the desire to be clean, to be desirable, and to be beautiful for Him. You have the longing to always be perfectly groomed on the inside. To come before Him in old, smelly clothes with greasy hair, and unbrushed teeth is to show a careless attitude towards Him and your place as His bride. I am speaking spiritually. In my marriage with Grant, there have been moments where we have not looked our best. There have been mornings when I have been sick, and moments when my hair has been a mess and my clothes have been wrinkled. BUT my desire is to ALWAYS be desirable to him....and I put forth an effort. So it should be with our Jesus. I never want to come before Him and be unkempt and undesirable. I never want Him to see me dirty and unclean. Again, spiritually, I want to be BEAUTIFUL for Him! As girls, we always make time to make sure our hair is just so, our make-up is flawless, our breath is sweet-smelling, etc. We buy the straighteners, the curlers, the curling irons, the hair spray, the mousse, the gel, the styling creme, and the shampoo. We spend money making sure we have the foundation, the bronzer, the concealer, the mascara, the eyeliner, lipliner, lipstick, lipgloss, and lipbalm. We buy the razors, the lotions, the teeth whitener, the nail polish, the perfume, the clothes, the shoes, and the jewelry.

Girls and women have a built-in desire to be gorgeous on the outside. It is my desire, however, to be gorgeous on the inside; to make THAT my priority. If we, as Christian ladies, learn to, first, polish and perfect the inside, then that will seep forth and make our outward appearance radiant and stunning.

Proverbs 31:30
"Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised."

 Psalm 45:11"So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him."
Psalm 90:17a
"And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us...."

Wait! I'm a Bride??

The other day, as I was driving home from town, I thought back to my wedding day. I do that quiet often. Now that I am expecting and my clothes are beginning to get tight, sometimes I sneak a peak at my wedding dress hanging in my closet and wonder if I will ever fit into it again! But regardless if I will be able to zip it up or not, I will always love my wedding dress. The same goes for my wedding shoes (which were GORGEOUS, by the way!), my wedding veil, and my jewelry.

Here is a question:  Do you think I could forget my wedding attire?

Would you forget your wedding attire? Would you forget your wedding day?

Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? A BRIDE forgetting about her wedding day? A BRIDE forgetting about her wedding dress? Unheard of, right?

A few nights ago, I was reading my Bible and my eyes hit a verse that stopped me in my tracks.

Jeremiah 2:32
"Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?

yet my people have forgotten me days without number."

Over and over, I read and re-read that verse and I asked myself, Could I forget my wedding attire? Could I forget what a beautiful day my wedding day was? Or how beautiful I felt? No. Not at all! Yet.... have I ever forgotten, for one moment, about my Lord?

A sobering thought. It is a scary one too. Here, the Bible plainly says that the people of God have forgotten Him. Yet, a bride does not forget what her wedding gown looks like. How can that be???

I have to admit, I was convicted when I read that verse. I have been guilty of forgetting about my Savior. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my wedding at some point. When I look at my handsome husband, sometimes I think back to the smile he had on his face when we shared our first kiss at the alter. When I struggle to zip up my jeans, I sometimes think back to how easy it was to zip up my gown on my wedding day. When I see a wedding show on TV or pass a bridal party in town, I remember my own day. But at the same time, I have gone a day and never remember the great love of Jesus Christ, and the sacrifice He made on my behalf. I have gone a day (even two!) without stopping to thank Him for all that He has done. I have spent a quiet evening alone and never once pause and just bask in His goodness. I have forgotten HIM!!!

That verse in Jeremiah spoke to me and humbled me greatly. Never again do I want to forget about my Master, my Savior. Never again do I want to forget about all that He has done. I challenge you as I challenge myself to REMEMBER our King. Remember His love. Remember His commands. Remember His faithfulness. Remember His might. Remember.....

Do not forget, even for one moment, that you are His! His people, His creation, His bride...