I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful 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 with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the LORD God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Isaiah 61:10, 11.

I didn't like it much, but it was cheap. It had been on display in the window, and it was a satin wedding dress, and it did fit. So I put a little money down and promised to bring along fifty more dollars... somehow.
My in-laws-to-be were graciously paying for the church wedding, but I did feel obligated to at least buy the gown. In a couple of weeks, a cashier's check made out to me for fifty dollars arrived in the college mail! It would buy the dress! Who had sent it? I knew not, but guessed it might be the friend who was to be our best man.
After the wedding, the dress was boxed and moved with all our other things so many times, I lost track of it. It had served its purpose and didn't seem to be of any special value.
Then one day a few weeks before her wedding, Paula, our oldest daughter, came sailing down the stairs with the wedding dress on, laughing and dancing and saying to her excited sisters and girlfriend, "Oh, I found it! I love it! I'm going to wear it for my wedding!" I was aghast! "Why? That's a terrible wedding dress. I never liked it."
"Oh, no it's not!" she said. "It's beautiful and I'm going to wear it!" And she did! It looked beautiful, and she was beautiful! We purchased a lovely lace veil to go with it, one that the saleslady would hardly sell us. "It was out of style," she said, "and no one would want it." It was also cheap. But we loved it and we wanted it. After the wedding the dress got packed away with a great deal more care.
Then before long, Karen was to be married. "I'll wear the dress too, Momma, and I'll wear Paula's veil! I love it. It will be so beautiful!" So a friend made a trip to Chicago and bought some fabulous imported lace that looked like the lace on the veil. She cut out lace flowers and appliqued them all over the soft, old satin dress. It was suddenly lovely enough to be in a museum. So Karen wore my dress and her sister's veil. She looked so gorgeous when she came down the aisle, I thought my heart would stop!
And there was that dress that I didn't like and had bought cheap and hauled around not paying it any mind, considering it worthless. There was that dress looking for all the world like a royal robe fit for a queen! What of its value now? Priceless. Absolutely priceless... not because of the material, the satin, the lace, or the style. Priceless because of the human values... two lovely daughters had loved me enough to want to wear my dress... because our own marriage had almost failed but didn't. It came back with great love and beauty because of two more young marriages doing well... and because my father-in-law, the girls' grandfather, said the vows for us all- all in the same dress. greek style prom dresses
Those are the reasons why a piece of satin and lace can be called priceless! By the way, remember the cashier's check that paid for the dress in the first place? I found out twenty-five years after our wedding that it came from my husband. Priceless? Yes. Some things are priceless.

Laura Lee Oldham.