Carefully, I lift the grey cardboard box from the shelf and climb up the stairs. Sitting around the living room are my “Bible Study Ladies”…the group has grown to nearly 20 so every seat is filled, including the balcony (behind the chesterfield, in front of the dining room table).
The ladies watch in awe as I open the box, pull back the wrapping and start to lift out my wedding dress. I have worn it three times…for my wedding, my 40th anniversary and my 50th.
The first wedding ceremony took place in Ottawa in 1953…a tiny group of maybe twenty to witness an event that would last 54 years. The second wedding was attended by family and a few friends in the old house on 108th Ave. A dear friend, our Minister and my boss (I had been his Church Secretary for five years), read out the vows which we repeated. And then our 50th, at Forbes Presbyterian when I finally had the “Big” church wedding I had always dreamed about. On the arm of my grandson, I walked down the aisle while my Harry looked on with so much love. He reached out to clasp my hand and suddenly the faces around me faded and it was just us two, together.
Sentimental yes, but beautiful memories.
So today I lift out the dress and lay it across the floor. It is a soft satin with a deep train of heavy lace and lace inserts at the sides of the long skirt. Tiny covered buttons run from waist to the collar and lace inserts line the sleeves. It was once a very light ivory but through the years it has aged and yellowed…much like myself.
Years tend to do that with people (and with ivory satin). Experiences mark us…grief, happiness, hope, disappointment, loss and gain. You don’t get out of this world unmarked.
I hope someday my granddaughter might think of wearing my wedding dress, she is not as slight as I was at 98 pounds but who knows. It is hers if she wants it.
There is a history captured in that dress…I have shared it with my family in a book called “Reflections”. It is all about my faith, family and friends. I want them to know that my faith followed me every step of the way…that tragedy did not overwhelm me, that as doors closed, God opened windows, that his love and faithfulness were ever present. I want so badly to leave this legacy for my family…the condo, the car, the jewelry, the bit of insurance are nothing, just please God, let them know You! That is my prayer for those I love so dearly.
