Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure" -- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Revelation 19:6 - 8)
Which reminds me of a telephone conversation I had with my Mother last month.
"Oh, Cathleen. Hello," she mumbled, "I can usually speak better than this."
I replied, "Well, it sounds like you are just waking up. Your speech will be clearer in a minute."
"I was just dreaming that I was wearing a beautiful dress that fit. It was navy blue with a lot of red in it."
I had recently told my friend, Rebecca, about a vision that I had had in which I courageously enter a pool naked. In the vision, I expect to feel totally exposed and ashamed in the water. Instead I become aware that I am not alone. A loving presence stands with me. Then I take about three steps up out of the water. Again, I expect to feel my nakedness and vulnerability.
But, once more, I am surprised. I find myself standing in a beautiful dress that fit perfectly. I am also changed physically. My proportions are sleek. My dress is linen in color, with something like sequins, but made of something more organic, closer to a lizard's skin.
Rebecca suggested that what I had seen may be a vision of my glorified body. I liked that! So, when my Mother told me seeing herself in a dream wearing a beautiful dress that fit, I said, "Do you think that might be a vision of your glorified body?"
She could not imagine it to be so. But she had been happy to tell me about this dress and she described it with the same adjectives that I had used to talk about my dress.
Last week, a young woman joyfully told me of seeing herself dancing in a flowing, wide skirted dress in her dream the day before.
On retreat this past weekend, another woman told me of sitting beside a river so beautiful one moonlit night that she just had to walk into the warm water, lifting her dress up to her shoulders as she made her way.
Women, dresses, water, love, and happiness. I am sated as I consider these stories and expect that we are not the only ones thus dreaming and acting.