Dedication Day

This past Sunday we had the wonderful opportunity to dedicate Riley to the Lord. It was a beautiful experience & a great reminder of what we as parents should really be focusing on.

For the dedication, Mommy & Daddy got to dress Riley up in a pretty little pink gingham dress. (It was actually kind of funny, because she does not wear fancy dresses too often, & she kept sticking the little flowers in her mouth. Also, she learned that it is not that easy to crawl in dresses.) She looked adorable! At church, everyone oohed & awed over her. She loved it!

When we arrived at church, our pastor came by & practiced holding her. He was actually dedicating 4 babies that morning & wanted to test each one of them out to see if they would cry. Riley passed the test. The fact that he was dedicating 4 babies that morning was part of what made that morning so special! Not only was Riley getting dedicated, but our nephew Christian, & friends Logan & Gracie were also getting dedicated. Each one of them means a lot to us & we felt honored to do this together with each of their families.

At our church, we do not baptize babies, we dedicate them. Basically, we view baptism as a personal decision one has to make on his/her own to be saved. A dedication is more like a commitment ceremony for the parents. The parents are asked a few questions about how they promise to raise their child & the congregation is asked similar questions, knowing that they will be examples for these children as well.

Being back on stage again at church with Aaron reminded me of the day almost 6 years ago when we stood up there together (dressed a little more formally) & made similar commitments. It is crazy to think that at that time, I was not even sure if I would ever had kids. I was not sure I wanted them. I was trying to be open to the idea, knowing that Aaron wanted them; but I was scared. Scared of the pregnancy, pain, labor, delivery, & I had no clue how to raise a child. I am not really that good with kids! BUT I am learning.

God is amazing & full of grace for people like me. Before I got pregnant, we had already chosen to have a child. I did really want one, & we would pray that it would only happen when God felt we were ready. He must have felt that we were. :-)God truly gave me only what I could handle during my pregnancy, delivery, & so far in her first year of life. It is amazing to see what you actually can handle when faced with it though. I cannot imagine my life with out Riley now. The love you have for your child is like no other. Even when faced with so much uncertainty about how I will possibly know what to do & when, if this or that happens with her, God has given me a recipe for grace: a pinch of patience, throw in some maternal instinct (who knows where that came from), a dash of love, an unexplainable sense of peace & tons of Riley's irresistible smiles.