Elizabeth's baby dedication

A few weeks ago Chip and I dedicated Elizabeth to the Lord during one of our church's Sunday services. I grew up in a church where child dedications happened quite often, but it occurred to me that several people may not know what it is or what it's all about.

Basically when a child is dedicated to the Lord, it's simply the parents standing up in front of the church congregation, publicly declaring that they will raise that child as best as they can with the help of God, stating that they acknowledge they are stewards of their child, and affirming that they have no clue what they are doing and will fully rely on God to guide them. I'm kidding on the "no clue" part, but not really. I mean, no one makes any parents stand up and say, "We have no idea what we're doing," but I think most parents think that one or two (hundred) times during their kids' childhoods. Am I right, parents?

We went up front and our pastor asked us questions which we answered with, "We will." When we dedicated Elizabeth at Faith Community, here's what we affirmed in front of our church family:

- We recognize her as a gift from God and give thanks for her.

- We recognize she belongs completely to God and surrendered all worldly claims on her life. A couple of years ago our pastor introduced us to the concept of a "ten second prayer." Whenever you tell someone you will pray for them, you stop right there and do it. Even if it's just for ten seconds. Or, if you are in a discussion with someone about something, you pause, and say, "Ten second prayer," and pray right then. Or, if someone or some situation comes across your mind, you say a ten second prayer. It's so quick, but you can say a lot in ten seconds! Chip and I have become big fans of the ten second prayer. We do it often during our every day conversations. One of us will say, "ten second prayer," and then just one of us says one or two sentences in prayer. Sometimes we're in the same room when we do this, sometimes we are far apart and on the phone. For whatever reason, often we are in the kitchen. When I was pregnant with Elizabeth we were talking about something related to her well-being and we decided to do a ten second prayer. In that moment God revealed to me that this little life growing inside of me belonged completely to Him and we were guaranteed no set amount time with her. He had called us to do the best as her parents for however long He has decided to give her to us. So I did a ten second prayer recognizing that we are stewards of her life and our job is to be her parents to the best of our ability but that she is not ours to keep. We hold her in our hands, not in a tight grip, but with open hands. Because when you have a tight grip on something or someone, your hand is clenched, and not available to receive more from God. So, this point of Elizabeth's dedication really resonated with me. She does not belong to us. She belongs to God and He has given her to us and it's our job to do the best that we can with what He has given us.

- We pledged to raise her in discipline and instruction of the Lord; making all effort to teach her the Word of God and the character of Christ in order to bring the joy of the Lord into her life.

-We promised to provide physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs for her while looking to God for wisdom, love, and strength in order to serve her.

-We promised to regularly pray that she will come to trust Jesus and follow Him. And for extra measure, I often tack on that she will love others with the love of Christ and that her light for Jesus will shine brightly, becoming a beacon to those who need love or encouragement.

After we affirmed ALL of that in front of the congregation, it was our church family's turn! Knowing that it takes many people who love Jesus to help us cultivate Elizabeth's faith as she discovers who she is in Christ, we turn to the church family for help. The church then affirmed that they also recognize her as a gift, they promised to pray for her and lastly promised to nurture her faith by being the people who teach her throughout her childhood. The people who will teach her on Sunday mornings, who will be her AWANA leaders, who will volunteer during Vacation Bible School were sitting in church that day and we willingly accept their talents and gifts to help develop her faith! When I look back at all of the people who taught me in church during my childhood, the list gets very long very fast! We want Elizabeth to have the same experience of Godly people who are so willing to give of their time for her.

Our pastor then put his hand on Elizabeth and told her that she was being dedicated to Lord and that we surrendered all worldly claims upon her life because she belongs wholly and completely to God.

Lastly we had family and elders of the church come up to the front of the church and gather around the three of us as our pastor prayed for Elizabeth and for us as parents.

Last week a friend posted this saying on his FaceBook page and I thought it was so appropriate for this blog post I was working on. So, I include it here and say, "Amen!" in agreement. We will continually pray throughout Elizabeth's life that we recognize she belongs to God and then we'll thank Him for putting her in our care.

We are so excited to see what God has in store for Elizabeth and how He will use her in furthering the greatest story of history...the story of God's love for mankind and how He sent His son to save a lost and dying world.