THE BRIDE WORE BLUE
I realized that it had been 18 months
Since the suffering had begun
I should have known that the purpose
Was to create a story, a writing,
Some kind of lesson
I endured as well as I could
Until the point of no return approached
And I balked
I stood resolutely with God in sight
And said I was done
I could not go on any longer
I had waited too long
And could wait no longer
The sorrow overwhelmed me
And I sought God
And all He said was,
“The Bride Wore Blue"
I went about my business
Until I could get to my computer
For Him to finish the story
That’s how all the writing begins
That He gives me . . . just one line
Until I write it down
And then He continues
What happens if I don’t write it down?
I hear the first line over and over
Until I do
So, the title and the first line is
THE BRIDE WORE BLUE
She was going to her wedding
And white was not available
So the bride wore blue
Yes, people would talk
And even the children would stare
But that’s all she had to wear
In these hard times
Yes, she was in love with the Groom
He was everything that she hoped
He would be
He was faithful and true
He was loyal and compassionate
He was wise and trustworthy
He was kind and gentle
As the bride dressed that morning
She felt the shame of wearing blue
Instead of white
She had remained pure for her wedding day
She had fought to only look toward her Groom
She had prepared the best she could
To take on her role as a wife
And yet, her dress was blue
And it was drab
She knew in her heart that it would
Embarrass the groom
After all He looked perfect
He stood perfectly straight and tall
Waiting for her at the altar
He had every right to expect
His Bride to be wearing white
He had taken every precaution to protect her
And guard her
He had prayed for her
And been there to strengthen her
When she lay low
But this day, this special day
All she could find to wear was blue
And let the story be told
That when she walked down the aisle
All the Groom saw was His Bride
Dressed in pure White
He saw her face, her countenance
And it glowed purely for Him
He did not see a drab blue dress
And her rumpled appearance
He saw the Bride of His dreams
And you could see a tear
Fall from his eye
As she slowly approached
For He knew that this was the Day
When all His hopes were fulfilled
The crowd spoke in whispers
But since there were so many
You could hear the commotion
As she began her walk down the aisle
It seemed to be a shameful thing
To wear a dress of drab blue
They did not look to her face
To see her joy
They did not look to see her heart
Of love for her Groom
All they looked at
All they measured her by
Was that one blue dress
And they were not pleased
The wedding went as all weddings do
And the people were ushered out of the building
Two by two, with the children rushing ahead
To see who could get the biggest handful of rice
To throw
The organist played a happy song
The parents wept their tears of departure
The church doors were about to close
When a young man stepped forward
No one had seen him during the entire ceremony
Had he been hidden in the foyer?
Was he under a pew?
Where was he sitting and why did he remain
After everyone had left?
What was his purpose?
On the back of a piece of paper
He began to write the story of why
The Bride wore blue
She had spent her money, her time, her love
To provide for his care and education
And had not any money left for herself
He wrote his thank you note
Placed it at the top of the gifts
And began to walk away slowly from the church
This had been a day that he would
Always remember
For even though, she had sacrificed everything
For him
She was now being provided with everything
She needed
She became poor to grant him an education
She endured the scoffing for his gain
She lost the respect of the people who came
For she was not as they expected
For she had something more important
To do with her money
So we walk through life
And we see others who struggle
We help who we can, but sacrifice
Is usually not part of our vocabulary
If it hurts to help, we usually walk away
But not so the Bride of Christ
She will help
She will sacrifice
She will suffer the disdain of people
All for the sake of love
