I got home from work, washed up, and got in bed for two hours. We went to church for Josiah's dedication, and it was beautiful. We had friends and family there to support us, to join us in our covenant to raise Josiah in the ways of the Lord. It was overwhelmingly beautiful to have so many people pray for my son's relationship with the Lord. Tim, our pastor, read this scripture over him:
"1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. "
Proverbs 3:1-6.
My heart was broken with the deep desire I have to see my son know the Lord intimately. It rattles the core of my being; it touches the deepest places in me--the ones that you can feel three miles into your chest. I am humbled by the Lord's good favor in giving us a son, and ever fiber of my being hopes and trusts that he, too, will one day understand the height and depth and width and breadth of God's love for him. As Tim took Josiah in his arms and prayed over him, I couldn't help but let the overflow of all of my feelings run out of the corners of my eyes. If I didn't feel so vulnerable about crying in public, the floodgates would have opened. Oh the joy and heartbreak that occur simultaneously when you love someone so much. It's as if the love is so much it could break your heart instead. The service was wonderful and coincidentally the scripture for the day was the passage in Genesis where God calls Abraham to take Issac as a sacrifice. It was so fitting, as a mother, as a mother dedicating her son to the church, to be reminded of how Josiah isn't mine to keep and the Lord is still the Lord over our lives. I want to trust my son with the Lord in the same way Abraham did. I have a long way to go.
Our cookout was incredible. The Lord made provision and gave us what has to be the most beautiful day of the year. We opened the doors and windows and people meandered as they pleased. The food spread was incredible, and I certainly cannot take credit for all of it. People brought all kinds of wonderful dishes, and not a single belly left hungry. The whole event was somewhat of a whirlwind to me, as I think most events you host are. Regardless, I enjoyed just having some of our best friends in our home and enjoying food and life in our presence. I had great help in the kitchen from some stellar women (also moms), and I think it ended up a huge success. I wish people had stayed longer, but I know many of them had moms to celebrate with later in the day.
When the numbers had dwindled to mostly family, we decided to feed Josiah some cereal...finally. He ate like an emaciated African child. He learned very quickly how to open his mouth for the spoon, and he seemed amused by his small crowd of onlookers. He LOVED the cereal. If I didn't put the spoon in his mouth fast enough he reached out and grabbed it and shoved it in himself. I had mixed too much on accident...and I ended up scraping the bowl clean and telling him it was all gone. As I stood up to take it away he pitched a fit. After some debate, I mixed some more. Finally, we just cut him off because we were all convinced that he was gorging himself without realizing it. Knowing our kid, he probably did realize it. It was a good Mother's Day gift to feed him with my mom there, because I know she really wanted to be there the first (second) time. When all was said and done, there was rice cereal all over the place, and he ended up getting a rinse in the bathtub. Success is an understatement. Let the games begin.
Jonathan and I sat on the patio with my friend Katie after everyone left. It was just a beautiful day, through and through.
Katie left around 5pm, and all three Rich family members found the bed quickly after that. We slept until 9pm, which really threw our schedules off. We let Josiah get up for a little over an hour before putting him to bed, apologizing that we didn't keep a decent schedule for him. He didn't seem to mind. He loves afternoon naps with Mom and Dad, and he didn't seem to have any problem going back to bed. Now we have most of our lives put back together and it is approaching 2am. I never transitioned back from my night schedule, so for the first time EVER--I am the one wide awake at 2am. I won't have any problem closing my eyes, though.
I only uploaded pictures from our one camera, but I have video and photos of the dedication, eating, and fun times that I will post tomorrow.
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