My Wedding Day

When I was a little girl, I dreamed about what my wedding day would be like. I would pretend Barbie was the bride and Ken was the groom and would play dress up for hours and hours. When I got a little older, I loved watching weddings on tv. I would take mental notes of what I liked and didn't liked so that when I was planning my wedding I would have a general idea of what I wanted.

Fast forward to college. I met and got engaged to the guy I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Little did I know that God had very different plans for me. My engagement ended on pretty bad terms and my dreams of getting married seemed out of reach. UNTIL...

I was a Senior in college when I started dating Ryan. I knew I was going to marry him pretty early on (although he told me this on our first date and I thought he was CRAZY). We had been dating about 4 months when Ryan asked for my hand in marriage. We planned our wedding for about a year and on March 27, 2004, I became Mrs. Ryan Mulkey. When I walked down that aisle on that beautiful Saturday afternoon, Ryan did not see me as someone who had made past mistakes or someone who had almost given my hand in marriage to someone else. He saw me in a way that only he had eyes for. He saw me with eyes of love.

Three weeks ago my precious Grandmother, known to most as Big Mama, went to sleep for the last time here on Earth and woke up in Heaven. I got in my car on this Tuesday heading to her house to be with my mom and the rest of my family, when a song I had heard a million times started to play.

Here are the words to that song...

There's a stirring in the throne room
And all creation holds it's breath
Waiting now to see the bridgegroom
Wondering how the bride will dress
And she wears white
And she knows that she's undeserving
She bears the shame of history
But this worn and weary maiden
Is not the bride that he sees
And she wears white head to toe
But only he can make it so

When someone dries your tears
When someone wins your heart and says your beautiful
When you don't know you are
And all you long to see
Is written on his face
Love has come and finally set you free
On that wedding day

She has danced in golden castles
And she has crawled through beggar's dust
But today she stands before him
And she wears his righteousness
And she will be who he adores
And this is what he made her for

When the hand that bears the only scars
And heaven touch her face
And the last tears she'll ever cry
Are finally wiped away
And the clouds roll back as he takes her hand
And walks her through the gates
Forever we will reign


You see, I learned something that morning. Even in death, my grandmother was still teaching lessons. I began to think about salvation in different light. Think about it this way. God, when he knocks at your heart's door, is in a sense asking for your hand in marriage. You can either accept Him or deny Him. I learned that when you accept His proposal and become a believer, all of Heaven begins making preparations for your wedding day...the day you will meet Jesus face to face. Not only that, but when you accept His hand and become a believer, your LIFE, your CHOICES, your USE of what God is calling you to do begins to make those same preparations.

My grandmother LOVED like Jesus. She GAVE like Jesus. You see, my grandmother wasn't perfect but she left behind a legacy that will NOT be forgotten by anyone she came in contact with. She left behind children, brothers, sisters, grandchildren, great grandchildren, neices, nephews, and friends who saw JESUS in her because of her PURE love for them. Her love did not come with strings attached. I believe she loved because Jesus loved her.

When my grandmother walked that aisle of Heaven, GOD himself met her with open arms. He didn't talk about her past mistakes or sins she had committed. He KNEW her because she trusted in Him. He KNEW her because she had a heart like His. He SAW her the way he had originally created her to be seen...blameless, sinless, holy, PERFECT. HE ADORED HER!!!

I believe when she got to heaven that Tuesday morning, on her wedding day, God looked at her as she wore HIS righteousness and said, "Well done thy good and faithful servant. For what you did unto the least of these, you did unto me. You didn't let your right hand know what your left hand was doing. You LOVED me and you SERVED me. ENTER INTO THE JOYS OF THE LORD."

I don't know about you, but I want to live my life in a way that will be pleasing to God. I want to GO where He tells me to go. I want to DO what He tells me to do. I want to GIVE when He tells me to give. I want to LOVE who he tells me to love. I want to SERVE HIM...period!

When my wedding day comes, I want God to be able to look at me with eyes of PURE love, more love that Ryan had for me on our wedding day. I want him to look at me and say to me just what he said to my grandmother. I want to bow down at his feet and be able to say to him, "Lord, I gave you EVERYTHING!"

I challenge you to live every day of your life with your Heavenly Wedding Day at the front of your mind.