God's Water

This was the weekend of Thomas Eric Collins's baptism.  Nanna & Grandpa, and Bee & Doc made the trip, and it was good to all be together.  Thomas was pretty chill and sweet through the whole thing.  His hair felt soft and wet, as I once again took in the physicality of the sacrament.  I want to recall the feel of this day as we pray for him years from now, when he's a teenager, and we are reminded of our dependence on God alone for his salvation.  Is God faithful?  Can he handle sinners in need of grace?  Yes.  We didn't initiate this call to come and engage in God's promises in baptism; God did.  We can rest in His promises today when he's a chunky monkey baby, and later when he is a tall and lanky teenager. 

This is what I want to remember.  We can't presume upon his baptism for salvation today, because baptism doesn't save.  But we can move forward expecting God to act on His behalf, expecting our boy, and all of our boys, will surely be saved.  We will look to Him to provide salvation - what only He can do.  God please give us faith to move forward in this way, not in fear that God might not save, but in hopeful expectation.  Hand in hand in that is the promise we made today to raise them in the church - with not only us as their parents, but the church as God's community, teaching them what the Bible says about who they are and, more importantly, who God is and what He's done.

Who got baptized today?  This guy!

There were a couple more references to water today, apart from the baptism.  Jack and Rowan's lesson from Children's church was on Moses hitting the rock, and water flowing out.  And today's Episcopalian lectionary reading featured 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, which Galen pointed out talks about the Israelites in the wilderness drinking from the spiritual Rock that followed them, "and the Rock was Christ".

Jack's K1 Teacher

This from Jack's K1 teacher this year (K1 = the year before traditional Kindergarten starts), taken from the weekly news letter:

"In a recent conversation that included the benefits of inclusive settings, I found myself referencing our [school's] statement of purpose. We discussed that though the process may look/be challenging at times, it's worth while if our goal is to help mold future citizens who are accepting and accommodating to the needs and challenges of others.  While at times we may desire that the world mainly consist of people most like ourselves, the reality is everyone has something to give, something to teach and we all can learn from each other.  I wonder what we will be taught this year."

I love this school!