“Evan, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” Those words have been going around in my mind all day.

I remember back to the days when parents wouldn’t take their new babies out until they had been baptized, and, in fact, a baby’s first outing was to the church for the bapism. Now we think differently, but it’s still very important to me that my kids have brought their child to the altar and publically commited him to the Lord. Of course, this is only the first step in Evan’s faith journey, but he is not setting out alone. In my mind, I see our family, friends, and congregation members pushing him and God reaching out and pulling him along.

Today was truly a full circle moment for me because I had cut apart my wedding dress to make a baptismal outfit for Evan. Even though my wedding dress was not a fancy designer item – I made it myself 39 years ago – cutting it apart was not without some trepedation. But look at the results. The blue vest and bowtie were sewn from new material, but the white is all wedding dress. What a blessing to be able to witness the past, present, and future all coming together like this.

God bless Evan!