McKinstry Moments: Dedicating Reid

With each of our children, we've participated in the tradition of presenting them back to the Lord to use for his work. As an outward display of this offering, our church hosts a ceremony called a baby dedication where we publicly make a covenant before God and the congregation to be godly parents. While there is no specific Scripture that tells us to do this, it serves as a reminder that our children really belong to God and are just on loan to us to care for and love for the short time that they are entrusted to us on earth. There is no baptism that takes place since we believe that the Bible instructs that each person must make their own decision in that regard. And, because we can't decide for them what they will choose to believe, this presentation is simply to show OUR commitment as parents to teach them to the best of our abilities through the help of God's Word and the Holy Spirit.

This past Sunday was Reid's baby dedication, when we committed to raising HIM as God directs. At just over seven weeks old, he is bit older than our other two were when the same ceremony was held for each of them. The reason for this slight delay was that initially we were hoping to possibly wait until Dave's mom was well enough to travel so that his parents could be here to see it. However, Grandma McKinstry's health is still taking its toll on her body and making it impossible to travel. Since we didn't want to put off this special ceremony too long though, we decided that it would be best to go ahead with our plans and take a video and some pictures for Grandma and Grandpa McKinstry instead.

The excitement of the whole event didn't keep Reid from catching his ZZZZ's as you can tell.

Pastor Larry opened with a story about the influence parents have not only on their children's lives, but also on the lives of people who are affected by those children generations and generations later.

The pastor and Peter (a deacon) prayed over us, asking for God's help in raising Reid.

Then, they presented us with a certificate to remember the day.

And, while the McKinstry side of the family couldn't make it, there was still plenty of family members there to support us on this special day. NaNa, Grandma Nora Ann, Granddaddy Eddie, Aunt Susie, Uncle Randy, Lexi (cousin), Aunt Courtney, and her fiance, Uncle Brandon, were all present.