Yesterday we had the privilege of dedicating our sweet daughter, Fiona at a dedication service @ Quest. We feel so blessed to have a church community that has come around us to affirm our desire to raise Fiona to know God, to seek God and to love Him. We were also so incredibly blessed by the presence of our family and closest friends who have chosen to join us in this incredible commitment to love, to support and to nurture Fiona. Those folks who have been a constant and faithful presence in our lives-- literally took up three of the rows at Quest and we couldn't be more amazed and humbled by their love.

Why dedication? Quest recognizes both: child dedication and infant baptism. I have a great respect for both traditions. Child dedication is a community recognition of a parents' desire to raise their child to know God. The parents recognize that they need the accountability of God and their community in this endeavor. It is a blessing on each family and a call to acknowledge that our children are gifts from God and with that we have the responsibility of stewarding, nurturing and caring for our children, but at the end of the day we know our children are Gods and that we are humbled to be given such a gift and opportunity to be an intricate part of their lives.

Infant Baptism is a beautiful symbol. It is the acknowledgement that God's grace is present in every person's life even before he or she can truly understand/acknowledge/comprehend it. As a parent at the infant baptism service shared, "It is the recognition that God is in pursuit of us even at birth". The hope for a parent who baptizes their infant is twofold 1) acknowledging the pursuit and grace that God has for their child and 2) the commitment to teach their child of this reality in the desire to see their child come to accept that grace on his/her own.

We chose dedication, as part of our family tradition. Frank and I both come out of dedication backgrounds. We also dedicated our first child, Isabelle and wanted to keep with tradition for Fiona. The significance of dedication for me, on a personal note, is the awareness that I am so profoundly broken. I remember when I found out I was pregnant with Isabelle. I had such extreme anxiety. In fact, prior to pregnancy, I really didn't want to have children knowing how imperfect I was (and still am). When I thought of bearing children my mind would zoom forward futuristically to all the dollars and years of therapy my children would potentially need at the hands of my brokenness. Then I shared with Eugene the news of my pregnancy and I remember him saying to me, "When you have children you'll really see how incredibly selfish you are". At the time, I just thought, "Wow, that's not nice. Come on, man". Yet, over the years I've found this to be very true. In the midst of this reality, I really do seek and hope to be the kind of mom who can see my children, acknowledge their beauty and the unique aspects of their humanity, and establish space for their dreams & hopes. But most of all, I want to be the kind of parent that keeps pointing them toward Jesus. I want them to know in unequivocal terms that God loves them, desires much for them and has a purpose and a plan for their lives. I know, know, know that I can't do this in my own strength-- part of the process of dedication is being affirmed in my parenting and acknowledging that I need the help of my village and God to come around me and hold me accountable to my family.

Yesterday, we were affirmed, held and supported by our village in looking at the gift that Fiona is in our lives. Even now, at such a young age, I see just how better off we are having her in our lives. I see how much better off this world is in having her gifted to the larger community. She is a joy and a comfort and I am so grateful that God saw it fit to bless us with her life. Praise be to God.