Prom

June 17, 2008, 10:15 am; posted by
Filed under Articles, Connie, Featured  | 3 Comments

We will dance on the streets that are golden
The glorious bride and the great Son of Man
And every tongue and tribe and nation will join
In the song of the Lamb…

It\’s prom time. Prom — short for promenade — is a graduation-type dance, often celebrated with a meal. You can barely go anywhere right now without hearing about it. Last week we were in a prom frenzy. My youngest daughter\’s dress, ordered in February for elder daughter\’s August wedding, still hadn\’t arrived, and prom was Saturday night.

We drove to the dress shop on Monday and asked for solutions from the owner. He offered her any dress in his shop for free to fill in if hers didn\’t arrive in time — or even if it did. She tried on a dozen and left with a stunning number we never could\’ve afforded. Hers arrived late that Friday and she ended up wearing both, making a change halfway through just for fun.

I remember my older daughter\’s prom three years ago. We didn\’t have the money for a gown that year, but we went looking one day anyway. She tried one on, and said to me, “I think I had a dream about this dress last night.” She was simply transformed when she had it on. We bought it. Later that week, my uncle sent her money for a graduation dress that nearly covered the entire cost.

All this made me start thinking about my own prom. I was a freshman, asked to go by a senior. My family was dirt poor. My parents had just split up and we\’d moved out to the middle of nowhere, onto a farm of all things. For some reason I found myself up in the attic where (I\’m not making this up) I found two gowns, one green and one orange, along with matching sandals, all packed away in a box. Everything was in my size too, which with size 9 shoes and a scrawny 5’11” frame, was nothing short of amazing.

I am totally convinced that God put those things there for me. I remember my dad arguing with my mom about my “borrowing” them for the prom that year. But she made sure that I cleaned them and put them back when the dance was over.

Why would God do that? Why would He care about how my daughters and I were dressed for proms in 1973, 2005 and 2008? All I can really tell you is that He did. And in Matthew 22, He seems to care how people are dressed for His wedding feast. So maybe it\’s because He cares about what we care about. Or maybe it\’s because He has a prom of His own going on. You\’ll find it in Revelation 19, where He\’s preparing for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Just don\’t ask what\’s on the menu…


Comments

3 Comments to “Prom”

  1. Connie on June 17th, 2008 11:02 am

    I’m pretty sure that first paragraph should’ve said “can’t” go anywhere…

  2. Steve on June 17th, 2008 11:16 am

    It’s colloquial enough as is — “can’t barely go” simply will not fly!

  3. Connie on June 17th, 2008 3:47 pm

    Once I read it over it sounded fine. I thought I wrote it wrong.

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