Baptism

In the craziness that is the Christmas season, I forgot to mention Lucy's baptism on November 29th. It was a wonderful day with lots of family. Lucy's Great Granddaddy, Great Aunt Cheryl, Great Uncle Phillip and Great Aunt Bindy, Mamaw, Grammy, Poppa, and Uncle David were there from my side of the family and then Mimi, Asa, Mama Mae, Great Great Uncle Jerry and Great Great Aunt Linda, Great Aunt Tanya, Cousin David, Gramma, Pappy, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Lauren were there from Michael's side of the family. Erin and Melissa drove up for the day also. Michael preached that day so it was nice that so many family members got to hear him. Lucy behaved very well during the whole thing. She was a little fussy in the beginning because she wasn't a fan of having her legs tangled up in a long dress, but once Paul took her she was fine. After church and lots of pictures, we all had a nice lunch at Frankie Bones - it was a wonderful day!

Lucy's dress (Which is difficult to see in the picture above because she's blocking it!) was made by Joyce Gorgas, a member of Mills River UMC. This was her gift to us and to Lucy and we are so amazed at her talent. We met with her about a month before to discuss the dress - we wanted to keep it simple, but there is a beautifully embroidered cross on the front of the dress with the vine and branches wrapped around it. The slip underneath the dress was embroidered with Lucy's name, date of baptism, the church, parents' names, and grandparents' names. What a special gift that we will treasure always and hopefully, will one day be able to use again with the next one!

The sacrament of baptism is something beautiful. It was a great reminder to me that while this is my little girl, ultimately she belongs to her Heavenly Father. In the Methodist church, we believe that baptism, as a means of grace, signifies God’s initiative in the process of salvation. John Wesley preached “prevenient grace,” the grace that works in our lives before we are aware of it, bringing us to faith. By having Lucy baptized, we gratefully acknowledge God's gift of her to us. We recognize that He is present in her life, even now - He knows what each day holds for her and will help us to meet her needs; we are called as her parents to nurture her in this love, helping her to grow until she can one day confirm this truth for herself. Baptism reminds us to look forward to how God will use this precious little girl to change lives for His kingdom. A great responsibility has been given to me and Michael to "raise up a child in the way she should go" - what an awesome task that I am only worthy of because of the grace He has given to me.

You can see more pictures from Lucy's special day in the 5 month folder. I will have more once I get pictures from Pappy and Uncle Phillip.