Cinderella Moment

"Your bridesmaid dress is here!" I said, as the dog's security alert system became fully operative. I pulled in the package as the FedEx truck drove away.
Asherel glanced up from her latest top secret creative endeavor.

"Com'on, we need to go get the fitting done, so hopefully it will be back before I leave for Texas."
She followed me out, wearing the silver shoes she would wear to the wedding. As though putting my fancyclothesphobic daughter in a strapless, full length gown were not harrowing enough for her, she had to wear fancy shoes too. We had fortuitously found silvery sequined sandals with just a tiny heel that she acquiesced to with only minor face contortions. They were really just glorified flip-flops but Karissa the bride had approved them.
"Who ever invented long gowns?" she grumbled.
"Asherel," I warned. She pasted a smile on her face. She remembered that there would be no complaining in the face of this honor her future sister had bestowed upon her. She hates dresses....but she loves Karissa and thus far in the battle being waged in her soul, Karissa was winning.

We headed off to the alteration shop.I helped her take the dress out of its bag and found a long length of satin tie.
"What's this for?" I asked.
Then we realized that she had to be laced into the dress at the back, like trussing a turkey. We both giggled as I did so, she less than I as I pulled the laces tight.
"Oof."
"They have to be tight or the dress will fall down."
As she stepped onto the little round fitting platform before the mirrors, I pulled out my camera.
"What are you doing!?" she cried.
"Asherel, don't start this. Karissa will want a picture."
She sucked down her protests, but glared.
"She won't want a picture of that face. Smile."
Asherel forced a smile on her face. She really looked beautiful. The seamstress came and turned up the hem.
"It fits perfectly," she said, checking the snugness of all the seams.
This is an incredible blessing. My dress took three fittings and rather major alterations before it fit. Since I will be out of town for almost all of the next two weeks til we leave for the wedding, I had wondered how we would manage if the fittings took longer than a day. I wondered as Asherel gazed at herself in the 3 way mirror if she had any Cinderella thoughts.
"Can I take this off now?" she whispered. Ok, probably if there were any Cinderella thoughts, they were brief.

We drove on to another store.
"You will need a dress for the rehearsal dinner," I said.
"Let's not worry about that now," she said.
I found a dress, well ok, 3 dresses for the rehearsal dinner, for me, but Asherel was still holding out for a reprieve. As we checked out, she saw candy at the counter.
"I have an idea," she said, "How about every time I wear a dress, you get me gummy worms?"
"Deal!" I said.

This is the time honored parenting method known as bribery. Some parents have negotiating, compromising, and educated approaches to raising children well. I am on my third teenager and I wasn't young when I started this whole adventure. Bribery teaches no life skills, except perhaps as a future extortionist, but frankly, I am hoping Jesus comes again before the fruit of my poor choices falls rotten at my feet.

What would Jesus do? This is the question that should guide every aspect of my behavior, but I can find no example in the Bible of a girl who hated dressing up. All I can find are warnings of not putting too much stock in externals, or being pure and lovely on the inside, caring less for what one eats, drinks, or wears on the outside. I have to say in all honesty that maybe Asherel is on the right track on this one.

But then, there is that verse about the wedding guests....and the ones that try to barge in without being properly dressed. They are chastised and thrown out. The warning is be ready for what the occasion demands. I suspect Jesus cared less about dressing for a wedding, and more about being ready when the King of King returns.  It will not be a casual event. But I suspect most of us spend more time getting ready for a dinner out than for the return of the Author of all Creation.

"We have to buy your dress tomorrow then if the one in your closet doesn't fit," I warned.
"Sure, for gummy bears!"
"No, no gummy bears unless you wear the dress to an event. You don't get gummy bears just for trying them on."
I was proud for my exemplary standards in raising this daughter of God.

Matthew 22: 11-14
¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
   ¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
   ¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen