"Goin' to the chapel..."

"Here comes the bride, all dressed in pink!
Open the window and let out the stink!”

JK! Sorry! Trying to bring a little smile to your face! So just admit it~ you smiled, didn’t you?!
What about this one:

“Britney and Kyle, sittin’ in a tree.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
First comes love, then comes marriage.
Then comes baby in the baby carriage!”

You said that little rhyme as a youngster, didn’t you? Well, maybe not with Britney and Kyle’s name, but with the names of whomever you were teasing at the time because they were in love. I was in love in 3rd grade with Webb, and he even game me is ID bracelet~ silver with his initials engraved on it! I thought I was BIG stuff…’til I decided I wanted to break up with him, and didn’t know how to do it without hurting him, so I asked my friend to go tell him for me while I stood by the window in our classroom, and then I had to go sit back down in the front of my row right next to him in the front of his row, and I felt terrible (remember, now, I’m a 3rd grader, fully mature, right/ WRONG!), and had a hard time forgiving myself….and that was a complete run on sentence! Of course we did NOT K-I-S-S and we never sat in a tree together, we never we never married OR had a baby together!

In case you have not figured it out by now, I am in the midst of helping plan my daughter, Britney’s, wedding. I am having so much fun; yet, can I just say that some of the venue rules are ridiculous (and a rip-off!) and prices for things are out of site! For example, the reception venue is just down the street from our home (convenient~ love that!) and has recently had a major renovation done. There was no charge to rent the country club; however, we must use their caterer (only having hors d’ouvres) to the tune of about $20 a head. OK, so that was not really a surprise, and is still way cheapter than many places Britney investigated. But, now get this; they charge $1.25/slice of cake to cut the wedding cake. We cannot have someone we know do it because of “liability” so they have to cut it. So, let’s assume around 200 pieces of cake @ $1.25/slice = $250.00 to slice the stinkin’ cake! Can you believe it!!!!

Add to that the cost of a photographer/videographer, musicians, ministers, decorations for the church and for the tables at the reception, bridesmaids luncheon, invitation purchase, printing and mailing…and so forth! Oh my goodness!!! It’s so expensive! Praise the Lord Britney is very conservative, not at all frou-frou, and appreciates the value of a dollar. I have been so extremely proud of her for doing her research in every situation, comparing prices, and trying to be mindful of her attendant’s budgets, as well. It truly is going to be a gorgeous wedding, and I cannot wait…but the reality of financing such a special event is shocking.

I must, however, give you the abbreviated version (yeah, right, Lisa Syler give anything in abbreviated form?) of the purchase of her wedding gown. We accidentally/on purpose stopped by a bridal salon 2 days after she was proposed to only to check on a Bridal planning guide. About 2 ½ later we left the place, and she had found a dress she absolutely loved! We told the proprietor that we could not purchase that day, as her father and I had not even discussed a wedding budget between us, let alone with Britney. However, as you might expect, "that dress is being discontinued in 2 days, so if you want that one, we need to know by tomorrow so we can get it ordered from China and get it here in time for alterations”. Uh-huh! Sure!

The next day Britney returned to Lexington, Ky. (where she lives) and called me that evening to tell me her planner had suggested trying to find your dress at a discount price rather than paying full price (in our case full price WITH alterations was going to be around $900). She and I had looked online for about 2 hours the evening she tried it on trying to find it to show her Daddy and never found it!

The next day she calls me ecstatic and tells me that, in doing an eBay search with only the name of the dress designer and the size, the exact dress came up as the 2nd from the top of a long list of dresses for sale. There were no bids; starting bid was $49.99, 1 ½ days left, and it was coming from a bridal salon in CA. I got on the phone the next day and asked many questions about the condition of it, ran home early from work to bid on it (only to discover it still had 2 ½ hours, as they are on Pacific time and I am on Central)…I was the only one to bid, got it for $49.99. Got ready to pay through Paypal and a box popped up about a new service “Bill Me Later” I could opt into, and, if so, I could save $10 on that purchase. SO, I accepted, paid $39.99 for the dress and turned right around and paid the “Bill Me Later” off! AWESOME, huh!!!!! Still needs some alterations but we will “get ‘er done” as Larry the Cable Guy says! We were some proud parents for that deal!

Today, as I pondered a ‘to do” list for the wedding, my mind’s eye wandered to a picture of Jesus coming back for His bride, the Church. In reflecting on how much time and attention we have paid thus far to the details of Britney’s earthly wedding, a ceremony that will last all of about 20 minutes or so and then a reception…we are doing our best to make it a beautiful, memorable, perfect celebration of Britney and Kyle’s love for one another.

Yet, I asked myself today, “How are you doing, Lisa, in your preparation for your bridegroom, Jesus Christ, to return for you, His bride, for all of eternity…and I am ashamed! Oh, I participate in (even lead) Bible studies; I go to church and volunteer my time and services; I tithe and give to many charitable organizations; I go on foreign mission trips each year and serve people there; I pray (not like I should, but I pray)…but my heart certainly does not always reflect a clean house prepared for the coming of my heavenly Bridegroom! How dare I spend more time planning my daughter’s wedding than I spend time with my Lord?

“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.’
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” (Rev.19: 6-10)

“…his bride has made herself ready.” The tense of the verb “has made” means that it is an ongoing process~ not a one time, punctiliar act, but an ongoing, day-by-day, moment-by-moment process of being prepared for my Bridegroom to return for me! Oh, how short I fall…and I am humbled, yet ashamed…and determined to start this moment making myself ready for His return! Even in the planning of my daughter’s wedding I should emulate Jesus! I should be asking myself if everything I am saying, doing, and thinking represents “Christ in me, the hope of glory”. (Col 1:27)