Dedication

Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
- Psalm 127: 3-5

I am a mother. I love that. Love the sound of it, love the meanings of it. I even love the down and dirty job it gets to be sometimes. Well, maybe I do not love that part, but he cliches are true...there is no greater joy, there is no tougher job. It is the one thing in this world that I have feared more, fretted over, tried to organize, simplify, out-do, succeed in, and get right. I was reminded, for the fifth time, just how sweet and precious the gift of motherhood, and fatherhood for that matter, truly is. On Mother's Day 2013, we had the honor of taking part in a ceremony, dedicating our fifth child, Adalynn Shiloh West.

It is simplistic in ceremony and deep in spiritual meaning. On each occasion that I stand before our church, I am reminded that these children are not my own, but precious jewels belonging to One far greater than I. They belong to the one true God. He has graciously bestowed the privilege of nurturing and caring for them in this life to us undeserving parents. He has also placed the high calling of guiding them on a path that leads to Him. Our dedication service had us pledge before our church, and at time even with our church to raise them in the admonition of the Lord. We have to give them back. Wait, what? We just got this little girl! Spiritually speaking, we give our children back to the Lord for Him to use for His kingdom as He sees worthy and fit. It takes not only a slice of humility, but the whole pie, to grasp that these souls were handpicked for us with a specific purpose and not merely our pleasure. I believe we have such little to do with the timing of bringing these children into our lives. If we are not careful we can get caught up in the "I want..." of having a child and lose sight of the sacrificial aspect. Dedication means giving up the dreams we may have for them, in exchange for much bigger ones. They are not our possessions to dress cute, buy stuff and parade around in hopes of getting some sort of affirmation toward our parenting skills.What a failure to be given these beautiful little lives from our loving God and never lead them back to Him. They are here to make His name great! I am thankful for the period of time from Mother's Day to Father's Day where our family, specifically my husband and I, can bask in the enjoyment of being parents and reflect on our calling.

Thank you, Lord, for these children and a a spouse who takes his job as father to heart!

Blessed! So unbelievably blessed!