I can’t hear the word “church” without getting blasted into a nostalgic, never-ending train of thought with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes. And while Joshua may not be as emotional or sentimental about it as I am, I know that church meant a great deal to him growing up as well. Church is where all our favorite friends were. Church was where we felt accepted and loved. Church was where we met and where we tied the knot. And church continues to be an enormous part of our lives years and years later.
However, church is a little different for us now than it was way back when. Our favorite people are working at or attending their own churches. Josh works in a youth group, so we rarely make it to the sanctuary services, which means we don’t know much of the congregation at ours. Church is no longer this static entity that houses all of the most important things and people in our lives. For us, church is everywhere.
So how do you dedicate your baby to God in front of your community when your community is spread out all over Atlanta? You bring your church to your front door.
This is what we did for Benjamin a million years ago when he was a baby. And this is what we did last Saturday for our little Samuel. Josh and I were overwhelmed looking around our living room at the faces that meant so much to us, and that would hopefully mean something to our children one day. And as our dear friend Dr. Josh Rice spoke about the blessing that is Samuel Isaac and anointed his little head, and as my father Dr. Kent Hawkins prayed over him, there was no doubt in my mind that we were at church.
Sam’s dedication party meant so much to our family. I cannot wait to see how each of the people that witnessed his dedication (and those that could not make it) will influence and love and teach our little Samuel. We are incredibly blessed, and so are our boys.