I am one who believes that weddings should go perfectly. After all, they are a very solemn occasion.
I remember reading about someone who couldn't find their that they would wear while walking down the aisle, so the bride had to go barefoot! I think I would have struggled big time if that were me.
However, times have changed and we have learned to become more flexible given the fact that so many little things can go wrong, and do go wrong. Today was no exception, for, I wore a formal dress that was one of the few dresses I had available to wear that would coordinate with my daughter's wedding colors.
First of all, I tried on the dress to make sure it still fit, and it did, although it was a little tight. There was a small stain that could not be seen because it was hidden under a vest I would wear.
It was past lunch time, and my husband picked up some fried chicken for us to eat. I am not going to make it a habit of eating fried chicken, but, this one day it would be an exception, especially if I pray over the food. So I did.
As I was eating my fried chicken, a few very small pieces fell on my beautiful dress. Horrors. The stains were so very noticeable. What was I going to do now? The wedding would be in about 2 hours and I would be walked down the aisle with stains on my gown! Why did God allow this? What was I going to do to fix this? What lesson would I learn from this? Maybe I would learn the secret to getting oil stains out of clothing, in quick fashion. Maybe I could write it on my homemaking blog and add to my collection of tips to help other homemakers get oil stains out of their clothing. Maybe I would make a lot of money from an experiment that came to mind that worked on getting the stains out.
At first, I took some water and soap and went over the stains. Not too long after that, I was called out to have my pictures taken with the bride and the bride's maids. By this time, I have a couple of large water stains on my dress. Nice. Maybe the oil stains would disappear. Maybe not.
Being out in the sun made the water evaporate quickly, so the water stains disappeared, but the oil stains were still there, just as obvious as they were before I tried to clean them with soap and water. My next experiment was to rub salt on them. I was sure that doing so would make the oil stains disappear, but it didn't do too much except take a lot of salt out of my salt shaker that I carry around in my purse, just in case we go somewhere and can't find the salt shakers (which has already happened before).
The salt may or may not have helped, but I stopped using that after a while. Then I just rubbed the stains with a paper towel. I did this for a long period of time and the stains really did look lighter after I got done doing that. But they were still obvious to the outsider, for my husband noticed them and asked about them.
I went down the aisle, stains and all, but a lighter version of the stains than they were a couple of hours ago. The dress will go to the dry cleaner and hopefully, they will finish getting the stains out.
What lessons did I learn from this difficult situation today? One thing I learned, or rather experienced, is that it is ok if things are not perfect at a wedding. God is still on the throne and in control of every situation that happens, even stains. I also learned that oil stains really do not come out easily. Although I took a lot of time to try to erase them, there was still the evidence of the stains there. Diligence does pay off, but there is a limited amount of time to fix things when a time is set for the bride to go down the aisle. It is ok to go down the aisle with stains, but it is preferable to go down the aisle with perfectly clean clothing, without spot or wrinkle.
The main thing I am reminded of is this; our sins are like stains on our souls. We can try really hard to erase them or make them disappear. Sometimes we try to do good works, hoping that they will help erase the sins that are marked on our souls. But we can try a million different things to get rid of sin's stains, and nothing will work. There is only one thing that can wash away our sins and that is the blood of Jesus Christ, God's perfect Son. He is the only One who has never sinned. He has no sin of His own to pay for, and that is why He can pay for our sins with His blood.
Around 2,000 years ago, God came to earth and lived among us. He did many good things for people, yet people were mean to Him and had Him executed by killing Him on a Cross made of wood. It was the most horrible kind of death a person could die from. Today, we have executed people by using the electric chair, which sends voltages of electricity through the person to kill him or her. Execution by electric chair, hanging, or beheading is horrible, but execution by crucifixion is the most dreaded kind that was done in the whole realm of History.
But that death meant that all of our stains of sin can be washed away. No matter how bad a person's sin is, if he or she repents and turns away from sin and receives God's forgiveness, that person will walk away completely clean and pure in God's eyes.
When Jesus died on the Cross, He disarmed the Powers of Darkness, and now we don't have to be slaves to sin any more! If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior from sin, now is the time to do so. Before you put your head on the pillow tonight, please consider this. Eternity doesn't end, and when you stand before God, you will either stand before Him completely clean of sin, dressed in robes of righteousness, or, you will stand before Him with the stains of your sins. If there is any sin remaining, and we know there are lots of sins in all our lives, God will not accept us. He will reject us and we will spend eternity in a place of horror called 'hell' forever and ever, for eons, and eons, without end.
For more information on this subject, please go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com or http://test4gp.wordpress.com
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