Dedicated.

On September 21, 2008, Anastyn Marie Wolfe and Myrah Jean Wolfe were dedicated to the Lord. It was a beautifully emotional occasion for their parents. Mama gave up on choking back the tears, overwhelmed by the joy and honor of giving our little girls back to God; Daddy held Myrah in one arm and wrapped the other one around the crying mama. Family from both sides came to our church (Celebration Christian Center) for the occasion: Nana & Papa McGinty, Grandpa Wolfe, Uncle Benjamin and Auntie Karin with cousins Evan and Brylie, Auntie Jen with cousins Justin, Kyle, and Cody, and our dear friends Matt and Tasha.

Witnessed by the congregation, family and friends, we pledged to raise our daughters in a home where "love is the atmosphere, prayer is the norm, the Bible is the standard, and faith is the foundation"; we committed to our own growth in our relationship with the Lord (so as to serve as "Godly examples" for them), and to raising our children in the "House of the Lord, where their lives can be influenced by the loving examples of kind and caring people." The pastor led the congregation in prayer for them.

For Jodel and me, the most significant decision in the week leading up to the ceremony was the selection of a "life verse" for each of our daughters. The pastor's wife reads it as the parents approach the platform. In particular, we wanted to pick true life verses, not verses (such as, "let the little children come to Me") that would wear with age. With such rich meanings to their Christian names, our daughters needed verses that would focus those themes and broaden their application to all of life.

The life verses we selected for them are as follows:

For Anastyn, whose name means "resurrection," "resilience," or "one who gets back up":

Proverbs 24.16a, and Isaiah 40.31: "For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

For Myrah, whose name means "myrrh" (fragrant incense offered in worship since the time of Moses, up through modern high church tradition):

Psalm 141.2-4, 8a: "Let my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart incline to what is evil, To practice wicked works With those who are evildoers; Let me not eat of their delicacies. My eyes are fixed on You, O Sovereign Lord; In You I take refuge."

Afterward, we invited family to our house to celebrate over lunch. Now, I had planned to offer a separate dedicatory prayer before the meal, as a way of making the ceremony "our own." Still apparently a rookie to this fatherhood thing, I'd envisioned a serene, near-transcendent moment where my firstborn held my loving gaze, and my newborn cooed at me with twinkly eyes as I invoked God's blessings on their lives. =) Instead, the wee one fussed and fussed, and we had to pry our other little cherub from some exciting outdoor play to join the big people inside. She was none too thrilled, and everyone else wanted to get to eating!

Too distracted to put an entire morning's worth of memorizing to the test, I pulled out my cheat sheet, paused a moment to welcome the wonderful "earthiness" of my transcendent moment, and read out a slightly modified section of a prayer I'd found online from the book Celtic Daily Prayer:

When you are young children
we as your parents cover
and clothe you
in our love
and with our faith.

As you grow
may faith grow with you.
May you find the presence
of Christ your clothing
and protection.
And year by year may the
knowledge of His presence
be greater for you,
that daily you may put on Christ
and walk as His own in the world.

Anastyn Marie and Myrah Jean,
may God make clear to you each road;
may He make safe to you each steep;
should you stumble, hold you;
if you fall, lift you up;
when you are hard pressed with evil,
deliver you --
and bring you at last to His glory.

We closed with a Wolfe family tradition of three generations, singing the doxology (the "Common Doxology" to the tune of "Old 100th") to bless the family meal:

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Amen.

I held back a couple of tears of my own as my heart swelled with love and thankfulness for my daughters and for the great tradition of faith in a loving God passed down in my family for many generations. What a joyous moment, to welcome our girls into the family of faith "surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses," and to recognize that they belong to such a beautiful God.