By QuaWanna Bannarbie

It is prom season. Raise your hand if you remember your prom. Wow! Flashbacks of dancing to Prince singing “Could you be the most beautiful girl in the world” come to my mind.

I attended prom three years in a row. I treasured my prom dresses most of all. I never went shopping for a gown. I was the niece of the best seamstress in Sumter County, Ga. Aunt Nancy Hall could sew anything. I wore several of her creations. She sewed my flower girl dresses, all my prom dresses, my choir robe and, one year, she even sewed my cheerleading uniform. Aunt Nancy would take my ideas for my dress, find a close pattern to that idea and then create better than what I wanted.

For my sophomore year, I wanted to have a vintage look. I had been gifted a dress from the 1950s by a family friend. It was that design women wore with full, knee-length skirts, petticoats and a tight waist. The bust was embellished with sequins and pearls. I asked Aunt Nancy to keep the velvet skirt and petticoat and create a new bust using some material in my favorite color, purple. Her design was a standout dress, and I paid a fraction of what some of my classmates paid for their dresses. I looked and felt like a Hollywood star. When I consider that my 1950s dress became a set-apart, modern and stylish prom gown, I appreciate alterations.

I stopped into Suffolk Quality Cleaners on Godwin Boulevard this week. Last year, Suffolk Quality Cleaners was instrumental in providing Cinderella stories for many Suffolk teens who participated in the Prom Gown Giveaway. I asked the attendant how many orders for alterations they complete on average. She gave me a monthly estimate that I suspect will increase as we get closer and closer to the day that Suffolk teens will be attending prom. The seamstress was not there, because they do not have as many orders for alterations as they do for cleaning services.

This truth brings me to the question: how much do we seek to change?

If we are being honest, change is not always welcomed. Unless you are still experiencing chilly temperatures in late April then yes, perhaps you do seek change. But on average, we look at change skeptically. The seamstress and designers of the world demonstrate that alterations can be beautiful. It really depends on who is doing the mending and what will be the result.

A Christian disciple cannot avoid a life of consistent alterations if they really trust God to renew a right spirit within. Unlike the dry cleaners’, which receives infrequent requests for a cut or tighten, successful disciples experience daily alterations. God loves to cut, mend, tie and create a new thing. His creations make Christian Dior look like a novice. He makes old things new. He is the ultimate designer, and He does not need the assistance of a fairy godmother to give you a Cinderella story. He is the author and finisher of your faith.

Just take a look around you. Change is happening everywhere on the exterior. I encourage you to seek God about altering your interior. You do not have to be a tuxedo or a prom gown to experience His mending. You just need to be willing to receive the promise. This is your season.

QuaWanna Bannarbie is an adjunct professor of Nonprofit Leadership and Management with Indiana Wesleyan University, National and Global. Her children attend Suffolk Public Schools. Connect with her via Twitter @QNikki_Notes.