Rejoice With Those Who Rejoice

A few months ago, as I was driving to work on the West Seattle Bridge, I had a crystal clear vision of Mackenzie and me standing on the stage at the Ballard campus dedicating our adopted child. What's strange is that I hadn't been thinking about adoption at all. I was just driving to work, listening to the radio, and thinking through my coming day. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, this picture popped into my mind.

Well, the floodgates immediately opened and I started bawling uncontrollably to the point that I almost had to pull over, which if you've been on the West Seattle Bridge, you know is nearly an impossible feat.

I'd never experienced anything like this before. Where had this come from and why had it come now? To be sure, adoption had been and continues to be a prominent topic of conversation for Mackenzie and me, so it was definitely on my mind. But until that point, our conversations had centered around the immediate next steps--not the hoped for eventual outcome and what that would entail.

It was clear that God was giving me a glimpse of what he had in store for us. He was showing me that being parents means more than just passing on our DNA; it means raising our children to know, honor, obey, and love Jesus. That's why we dedicate babies--not to secure their salvation (only Jesus can do that), but to promise to love and lead them in a way that points them to Jesus. In turn, our church family promises to support, encourage, and help us as we raise our children.

Mars Hill typically does baby dedications on Mother's Day and Father's Day, so two weeks ago, we watched twenty families at the Ballard campus stand before the congregation, introduce their child, read a few verses they had selected for him/her, and pray that God would help them raise their children in a way that glorifies Jesus.

It's a cute spectacle to say the least. In true Mars Hill fashion, many of the kids are decked out in Chuck Taylor's and spiky hair, but there's a fair share of pink bows and frilly dresses. Most of the kids either squirm, cry, or grab for the mic as their parents try to read their selected verses. Some of the kids even helped lead worship this year.

This year at the end of the service, Pastor Bill Clem, our campus pastor, acknowledged that for couples like us struggling with infertility or those who have experienced miscarriages, Mother's Day and Father's Day can be difficult emotionally. But he encouraged us to "Rejoice with those who rejoice," just as we would "weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15). And as Mackenzie shared, by God's grace, we were able to do just that. We're thankful for how God has blessed so many families in our church and hopeful for the day we, too, will stand before our church and dedicate our child to the Lord.