anniversary – Lisa J Radcliff ~ Finding Freedom from the Past

“I’m sorry, sir, you must have proper attire to enter the dining room.” My husband explained to the host that we were on our honeymoon and inadvertently left our garment bag, containing our dressy clothes, at home. The heat of embarrassment crept up my face. The host motioned for my husband to follow him behind a room divider screen. Doug emerged wearing a black dress jacket and tie—and a smile. Now we could enter the swanky dining room. We were seated at our table and enjoyed our fancy dinner. I couldn’t help but look around to see how many other men were wearing black jackets and ties.

Have you ever shown up for an event woefully underdressed? Maybe you didn’t know there was a dress code. Or maybe you just ignored the “black tie” part of the invitation. Did you stay? Were you asked to leave? Did embarrassment keep you from going through the doors?

The most important entrance you could ever make is into Heaven. Have you ever considered there is a dress code for entering Heaven? Will you show up underdressed? We like to think that God, in his love and mercy, will allow anyone to enter Heaven, even if they are dressed in filthy rags. But the truth is, once we get to Heaven’s entrance, we need to be dressed properly, or we will be turned away.

The robe of righteousness in Isaiah 61:10 is a picture of the beauty of salvation offered by God. It is a divine covering of our sinfulness, an exchange of our filthy rags for Jesus’s perfect robe of righteousness. It’s the only attire we can wear to gain entrance into Heaven. Thank goodness it’s free and meets the standard for entering God’s presence.

This robe is also a symbol of joy—the kind of joy a bride experiences dressed in her wedding gown as she is joined to her groom. Jesus is our bridegroom, and like Isaiah, we will greatly rejoice in the Lord because Jesus has dressed us in a beautiful robe of righteousness, our salvation.

Heaven isn’t for the underdressed. The host doesn’t have a screen at Heaven’s entrance to scoot behind and exchange old clothes for a robe. We must put it on before we arrive. If we show up without it, woefully underdressed, it will be too late. But those who arrive wearing Jesus’s extravagant, beautiful, perfect robe of righteousness will overflow with joy as they are welcomed into Heaven for all eternity.

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10 ESV

This is the week we were supposed to be in Italy, celebrating our 35^th wedding anniversary (May 25). We had it planned. Had the dates and the villa in Sicily. We hadn’t pulled the trigger on the flights because they were much more expensive than we had hoped. We were waiting to see if they would go down. They probably have gone down. A lot. I haven’t checked.

Our second choice was going to be an Alaskan cruise. Doug is not interested in going on a cruise even a tiny bit. But I have always wanted to do the Alaskan one and thought I could convince him because Stephen Curtis Chapman is hosting one that happens to be over my birthday. It was the perfect storm: favorite musician, 35^th anniversary, my birthday…enter COVID-19. That swirling and gurgling sound coming from the bathroom is my one and only shot of a cruise going down the toilet.

Oh well. Instead of spending a week in an exotic place, we have spent the last two months at home together. With elective surgeries being cancelled, Doug’s hours were cut in half, and he had zero on-call hours. We were able to spend most of our days together, organizing the basement, taking long walks and scenic drives, and giving lots of foot massages. It has been fabulous! I am looking forward to retirement, if this was any indication of what that will be like.

We’ve “eaten out” a lot more than we normally do. In an effort to support our local restaurants, we’ve ordered take-out every weekend from at least five different restaurants. It’s good we’re taking longs walks together every day, since we’re “eating out” so much. When we started walking, I was doing about a mile a day. Now we are up to almost four miles a day. On our walks we’ve met more of our neighbors, talked over some really deep stuff, and explored more of our neighborhood, all while holding hands. Our walks often end by sitting on the front porch sharing a little bit of Merrymead ice cream.

Nope, this week wasn’t what we had planned. We haven’t visited Sicilian villages filled with overflowing window flower boxes and quaint trattorias, sampling the gelato at every chance. The last few months haven’t been what we would have planned. But it has been a time of increased spiritual growth, physical strength, and emotional connectedness that we otherwise may have missed.

Most importantly, our love for one another has deepened. I feel for those who have been completely isolated during the shutdown. It has been such a blessing to go through this time with the love of my life. I’m looking forward to things getting back to normal soon and especially seeing our kids and grandkids in person. But for now, I am completely content spending my time with the one person who has meant the most to me for 35 (plus) years.