by Joanie Butman
My daughter is getting married next year, and we’ve started looking at wedding dresses. After getting over the sticker shock, which was no small feat, it’s been a fun process. She has tried on everything from the sublime to the ridiculous. Apparently, I need to work on my poker face because there was no hiding my responses when she emerged from the dressing room. Some were looks of horror. Others were hilarity. And then there were just the “meh” ones. I don’t know yet whether she will choose the one that elicited an excited, unanimous, “That’s the one!” from all in attendance. Oddly, it was the first one she tried on. Even so, she has to go through the process of looking at other options before she makes her final decision. As I observed this process, it reminded me of a Goldilocks approach more commonly known as the “just right” concept.
It mirrors my spiritual journey, trying a myriad of options, searching for the one that fit “just right.” My path towards God was long and circuitous with lots of wrong turns and dead ends. I’m sure my own mother watched with horror, laughter and lots of prayers as I bumbled my way to Jesus. Not unlike so many others, there was always a void in my life that I tried to fill with all the traditional things: food, work, exercise, good deeds, drugs, alcohol. I dabbled in the New Age Positive Thinking fad and got sprung at Lifespring. Despite my efforts, nothing served to calm the restlessness or emptiness I felt until I started studying the Bible. Even though it seemed as if I was returning to my first ‘dress,’ which was the Catholicism of my parents, just like my daughter I had to go through the process of exploring other possibilities before I chose to adopt Christianity as my own.
The ‘dress’ that fit just right was the one Jesus was offering to me as His bride – His robe of righteousness.
“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” (Isaiah 61:10).
“’Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).
It didn’t come as an immediate revelation. It grew and was nurtured by God and some very patient women over the course of seven years before I finally realized the familiar aching that followed me through life was no longer there because I had finally discovered the missing piece to the puzzle of my soul. The piece/peace I was searching for wasn’t going to be found anywhere but in the arms of God.
The sticker shock of bridal dress shopping pales in comparison to the price Jesus paid to clothe me in His white robe of righteousness. It cost Him His life. You can’t ‘get over’ that kind of price, nor are we meant to. My gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice on my behalf is what keeps me close to Him. It’s only in the knowledge of how undeserving I am that I can truly appreciate His lavish gift of grace. It’s my own Divine version of saying ‘yes to the dress.’ Will you?
Choose wisely.
*The Goldilocks Principle is known globally and across industries as the “just right” concept. The origin stems from the fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. During Goldilocks' visit, she tasted three bowls of porridge of which one was too hot, one was too cold, and one was “just right.” She also found in trying out three chairs and three beds, a chair and a bed that were "just right." (https://www.interact123.com/post/the-goldilocks-principle-education)