Elevation's baby dedications look a bit differently than what I grew up watching. Since we dedicated Luca in CT on one of our trips back, I wasn't sure what to expect from this dedication experience. The only thing I knew was that it is a separate ceremony, it does not happen before, during, or right after a worship experience.
Baby dedications were always such a special time for me, as a church member, but now that I have my own kids, they have taken on an entirely new meaning. The act of dedicating them to the Lord, in front of others, declaring that we vow to raise them up knowing and loving Jesus and asking others for help in doing so is just so deeply impactful. I feel so incredibly honored that we were chosen to raise these two boys, and dedications just really seem to magnify those feelings in me. I feel grateful everyday for them, for the gift they are and how much I love them. But the act of dedicating them is so humbling, there is something about it that just brings me to my knees and makes me want to sing God's praises and fills my heart with so much joy and love and thanksgiving.
For Jack's dedication, things felt a little bit different because the only family that was able to attend with us were my parents. Thankfully I know that regardless of who was there with us physically, we have an amazing team of people that were lifting us up from afar. We also waited to dedicate Jack (unintentionally) so he was 19 months for the ceremony, and Luca was 2 months. Dedicating a toddler is a much different experience than dedicating a newborn.
When we walked in to the dedication, the lobby of our church had been transformed to hold all the families dedicating their child(ren). There were 21 children being dedicated. Even though it was the church lobby, it felt as if it was in a separate space- a more intimate, beautiful venue. They had some white wall coverings up and fresh florals, they set up chairs around a small stage like a small church sanctuary. On the other side of the space they had a long table of food with multiple standing tables all decorated in white tablecloths and fresh flowers. As we sat and waited for it to start, they had a picture of each baby playing on the screens.
They started the dedication with worship, we sang a few songs and then our campus pastor Jonathon Josephs got up and spoke for a few minutes. We really loved what he said, every point he hit on was one that mirrored how we felt. He talked about how its less about the baby and more about the parents decision and commitment to live a life for Jesus ourselves as well as promising to raise our child up knowing Him. After he spoke, he had us read our letter (they had us write a letter to our child and submit it when we RSVPed for the event) to our child. Unfortunately, because our letter was so long I only made it part way through. After we read the letter, he had each parent stand with their child and directed us to pray over him. Then, he asked the people who were with us to stand and pray over our child/us. After that, he prayed over everyone. After the dedication was over, they had framed certificates for every child, food, and they also had a professional photographer there taking photos (they were taking photos during the event and they took posed family photos after the event which will be gifted to us in a few weeks).
The entire dedication was just so beautiful. I really loved how they did it, what each person who spoke said, and I left feeling so full and grateful for the experience, for my sweet Jack, but also for our church and how ready and willing and equipped they are to help us raise up these boys.
After it was over, we took some photos before we left to go pick up the food I had ordered. I had decided to order food so that we could have a special lunch together, but one that I didn't have to cook. It was the best idea I have ever had. The boys had a lot of fun playing while everyone waited for me to finish getting everything ready. While we ate, I read Jack his letter since I hadn't been able to read it all during the dedication. After everyone was done eating, they played outside for a bit (it was a beautiful day) and then we had cake.
Overall, it was a really great day. Even though the format was different than I was used to, and Jack was a bit harder to contain and pray peacefully over (hello curious toddler stage!), it still felt like such a beautiful, meaningful, special day. My heart is still overflowing as I look back and remember. I just feel so grateful for this life I get to lead. God is so, so good.
I am posting the letter we wrote to Jack so that I have it to look back on. Feel free to read it, or skip down to the photos below it.
Dear Jack,
You are so special to us. Before you were even in Momma’s belly you were in our hearts. We prayed for you and your precious life before we knew you. You were a part of who we are, before you even came into this world. We are so grateful that we get to know you, love on you, teach you, guide you, support you, and raise you each day. You are one of the greatest gifts that God has ever given to us, one that we feel so incredibly honored to have received.
We believe whole heartedly and feel the weight of Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will never depart from it.” We believe and know that God has entrusted us with your life and we will do everything in our power to be obedient to God’s call for us to raise you up in His word and truth. We promise you, Jack, that we will be faithful to God’s commands of us. We promise to teach you with our words as well as our actions, because who God is and what a relationship with Him looks like should be seen in who we are and how we live our lives. How we spend our time, the things we say, what we choose to honor, how we speak- all of those things should show you what it looks like to have a relationship with Jesus. We promise to keep God at the center of who we are as individuals, as husband and wife, and as your parents. Because without Him at the center of all the roles that we have in life, we wouldn’t be able to give you (and Luca) the very best of ourselves. We take our roles as your parents very seriously and know that God gave us the most precious gift when He gave us you, and we will do all we can to make sure you feel His love and our love every single day of your life.
We promise to love and support you in every single thing that you do. No matter what, we will always be there, standing beside you. Holding you up in times when you can’t seem to muster up the strength to stand on your own, pushing you forward in the times where you’re too afraid to let go, speaking life and truth over you in moments when you begin to doubt or forget where your identity lies. And most importantly, praying over you day in and day out for God to stand in where we can’t, for His hand to guide and lead where ours aren’t able, and for His truth to ring in your mind and heart on days where our voices are being drowned out by the things around you.
Romans 12:9-12 says “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
That is our prayer for you Jack. That you will be filled with love- love for God and for others. We pray that you are not overcome by evil, but that you are able to overcome evil with good. That your love for all people will be so strong; always showing them honor and respect, and that you are always willing to serve, without hesitation. We love the word zeal because it means with great energy and enthusiasm- and that is exactly what we want for you in your pursuit of Jesus. We want you to passionately seek Him and His goodness. We want you to actively and intentionally pursue Him day in and day out. We pray that you can see Him in all things; that your hope and trust is always in His hands, that you are in constant communication with Him, knowing that regardless of what may be happening all around you, He is always there, ready to fight for you and be all that you need Him to be.
Ephesians 2:4-7 says “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
We pray that you not only accept God into your heart and life as your personal Lord and Savior but that you are also able to clearly see who He is. Because he is always good, and He is always faithful. We pray that you are close with Him and in being close to Him you are able to feel His love, joy, and peace as it naturally overflows from Him into you. We pray that the freedom of His truth and goodness flood your heart and mind and encourage you to go forth into the world beaming so brightly for Him. We pray that you choose to walk close to Him, that you choose His love, that you choose to live a life that is honoring to Him. We pray that you see and know that God doesn’t place commands on your life to be a strict rule master, but rather to ensure that you can live a life of true freedom and pure joy in Him- regardless of circumstances or seasons you may walk through. When you see God for who He is, nothing can ever weigh you down. God and His love and goodness and mercy and grace will win every time.
You are bold, fearless, curious, and strong at 18 months old. You aren’t afraid to go for things, no matter how big or impossible they may seem. Our prayer is that the fierce determination and drive within you is aligned with who God is because we know His power combined with your determination will change the world. We promise to guide you in your relationship with Him, teaching you how to draw closer to Him, how to align who you are and who He has called you to be with who He is. We also promise to never let you lose that determination, to guide you and push you into dreaming big and never stopping on 6. We will always believe in you Jack, and in your ability to change the world.
As we dedicate your life to Jesus today, we stand in awe of the gift that you are and who our Heavenly Father is. We are so grateful for His love and confidence in us, and we are so grateful we get to bestow that upon you as we raise you up in Him. We are grateful for the family and friends, near and far, that are praying for you and loving on you, and take the job just as seriously as we do. We have the best tribe, Jack. One that loves Jesus and others so well, one that you can watch and grow and learn from.
We love you, we cherish you, and we are so grateful for you. Always remember that we love you not because of the things you do or say, but simply because you are you. That will never change, or waiver, we will alwayslove you. We are your biggest fans and if you ever start to forget, just look to the sidelines. We will always be there, cheering, praying, and beaming with pride and joy because of YOU.
We love you the most Jack!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
While we waited for it to start, we took some selfies and I took some pictures of the details.
They gave us a copy of our letter when we arrived.
Shannon, our eKidz director, and Ana, our campus Pastor's wife both spoke briefly before it all began.
After it was over, I thought to snap a few more picture but they had already started picking up the chairs by the time I thought to do it.
Above is when we stood for the photographer, hoping those come out nicely.
I ordered the food from Zoe's Kitchen. We had ravioli, roasted vegetables, fruit, greek salad, and some of my favorite rosemary cheddar poppers (from my favorite bakery).
After playing outside, Luca came in to eat cake like this. It made me laugh out loud.
