My oldest daughter, Lauren, got married back in August 2010. I had lost an abundance of we i g ht the prev ious year and a half (265 to 205). I was told that theclothes I had s a g g ed or made me look like a homeless person who just shopped at Goodwill rejects and was not going to work to escort my daughter down the aisle. Most of my suits were a little old and outdated. Bottom line, I needed a new suit and I had 6 days to do it!
Let me go on to say that I am not inclined to the fitting and procurement of apparel for somewhat special or once in a lifetime events. Translation: I hate to shop for clothes…period! I fought the idea and made every excuse to get out of doing this task and now was down to the wire. Waiting until the last minute eliminated some options, as most store selling suits would require alterations and that was a two week wait at minimum.
Soooooo…Monday before the Saturday wedding, Jill and I head out to find a suit. I just needed a black suit. A plain black suit with no frills or amenities. How hard could that be? A piece of cake. I would like to say it was an adventure but nightmare would be more descriptive. We went to J C Penny’s (still around then) and tried on about a gazillion different combinations of slacks and pants (okay, maybe not that many, but it was a bunch). Took about an hour and a half to do this. No luck. So we went to Dillard’s. They did not even have a black suit. Lots of patterns or pin stripes, nothing solid.
Sears was no better. We looked, tried on, looked more and …well you get the picture. Finally, “I have had enough, I am going home. You coming with me, Jill?” was my line. I left and Jill was right behind me mentioning to me the clerk in Penny’s had set aside a shirt that fit. Did I want to go back and get it? NO! We went home.
Monday night, Lauren and Brad (future son-in-law) were talking about the wedding and that his dad had just a plain black suit. I think they said it was just a sports coat and a pair of black slacks (known as separates in the clothing industry). Guess maybe, I should consider the combination technique. After some (I really mean lots) of discussion, I decided maybe I should give another try.
Tuesday I went back to Texarkana to make a hospital visit and pick up some last minute items for the rehearsal dinner. Jill asked if I was going to try the clothes thing again. “Yea, I guess I probably should.” I will try J.O.S. Banks. They are a little pricey but quality is good and they always have a good selection. Well I hit half right. The price was up there, but do you think they had a black suit??? Not in this lifetime.
Now what? Kind of running out of options. Guess play Z! Back to the mall. Get Jill, head to the mall and with a determination of General Patton on battle day, I will not leave the mall without suit or separate or matched, whatever!
The clerk at Penny’s did seem willing and was a big help before, maybe??? We walk in Penny’s and there she was. “Did you come back to get the shirt? I still have it set aside?” she asked. “Sure and how about a matching black coat and pants to go with it?’ I asked.
We are off and running, again. This seems all too familiar. This pair of pants with this jacket and well, no, that does not look right. What about this coat? No, but, I think it matches that other pair of slacks. Round and round we go for the next two hours.
But this time…SUCCESS!!! Houston, we have a match. I am happy, Jill is happy, Jessica doesn’t care because she is shopping for school clothes and the little clerk assisting us is getting a big laugh and says to come back when she is here because, I am hilarious. Not every customer is like that. (Glad someone got a laugh out of it) Me, did I mention I hate to shop? Yeah, and the only other thing I hate worse than shopping is paying for the clothes. That reminds me, the clerk looked at my driver’s license (because that is what they do when you write a check) and wanted to know whose driver’s license I had because the picture looked nothing like me. I think that was a compliment.
Long story short, I found a suit for the wedding. The suit was perfect and I wore it often, out as a matter of fact. I just replaced it two years ago.
Hmmm….wedding, a suit… makes me think of a parable that Jesus gave. Matthew 22 Jesus spoke of a wedding a king gave and all that were invited were given a wedding garment. He saw a guest and noticed that he did not have on a wedding garment and confronted him. The man had no response to which the king had him bound and cast out to a place of outer darkness where there was “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 22:11-13). My suit was perfect for the wedding and was quite a memorable occasion.
Will there be stress, anguish and inconvenience for you at the Wedding Day of the Lamb (Christ)? Make sure you are ready for that day. Get you wedding garment now, know Jesus as Lord.
Bro. Tim
