Christen and her husband Sam on their wedding day. (Maria Harte Photography)
My husband Sam and I got married this past August after a year of meticulous planning. Our friends teasingly referred to it as the “national holiday” as we worked through countless to-do’s leading up to the big day. My personal obsession with planning was taken to an all-time high as we made decision after decision to ensure the day would flow smoothly. Thanks to our incredible family and friends, we had help every step of the way as we hashed out particulars. It was truly an all-hands-on-deck operation, and by the week of the wedding Sam and I felt fully prepared...or so we thought.
The day unfolded without a hitch. From the celebratory morning preparation with my bridesmaids to our photos in the afternoon, all of the forethought was paying off. When the time came for me to walk down the aisle, the only thing I had left to worry about was not tripping over my dress (harder than it looks). But, thanks to my dad’s steady arm, I made it to the altar and we had a beautiful ceremony. It was an answer to countless prayers; not only had God blessed me with the man of my dreams, but the wedding day itself felt perfect.
It was finally time to exhale! As our guests got seated in the reception hall, the MC announced us for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Bloom. We could hardly contain our excitement as we ran through the tables and onto the dance floor. After a few songs, I went to the ladies’ room to freshen up where there was better lighting. And then...I saw it. Low and behold, the bright lighting revealed a substantial RED wine stain on my very-white wedding dress. “Deep. Breaths.” I thought.
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My mom and several other ladies in the room rushed to the hem of my dress as they too realized what had happened. We soon understood the damage was irreversible. Everyone stared at me, awaiting a potential bridal meltdown. I took a few moments to mourn my dress (I’m only human). But as I shifted my focus from the red blotch to the concerned faces around me, I realized I only had a few hours left of what had so far been a perfect day. God did not want me to let this setback ruin it.
“At least the dress made it through the staged photos!” I said as I was heading back to the party. After I showed Sam the dress tragedy (kidding, sort of), he shared the not-so-perfect part of his day.
God wants us to call on Him in any and EVERY situation, even if they seem too small or insignificant to us. God has the power to bring hope into our seemingly hopeless experiences when we humble ourselves and surrender control to Him.
Apparently, he too had experienced a wedding-day wardrobe malfunction. He and his groomsmen started getting dressed just before we were scheduled to take photos. Sam had kept his tuxedo shirt in the packaging until the big day to avoid any stains or wrinkles. As he began to put it on, something seemed off. And then it hit him. The store had given him a shirt that was meant for studs rather than buttons, and of course, he didn’t have studs because he had requested a shirt with buttons. It was too late to buy a new tuxedo shirt. The situation looked grim.
THEN, one of his buddies thought up an ingenious plan. He tasked the eight groomsmen to remove the lowest stub from each of their shirts and transfer them to the groom's. Voila! Eight studs for the complete look. A happy ending thanks to some quick thinking and support from generous friends.
I’ve discerned we were able to laugh off our mini-crises that day because God was with us. Though I had heard it countless times before, that day – the one day I had planned more than any other day of my life – I learned no matter how carefully we plan things, life still happens. And when life happens, we all have a choice to make. We can either cling to control of the situation, or we can allow God to take over.
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Though a wine stain on a wedding dress and missing shirt studs can hardly compare to the larger struggles of life, these scenarios can rattle us if we let them. The truth is, God wants us to call on Him in any and EVERY situation, even if they seem too small or insignificant to us. God has the power to bring hope into our seemingly hopeless experiences when we humble ourselves and surrender control to Him.
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13)
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