Sunday, August 31, 2014

harpeth river baptism

This morning as I was scrolling through some pictures, choosing which ones to print off, I stopped at the folder from May. Our family celebrated a big event in the most beautiful way. Oakes was baptised in the Harpeth River surrounding my family's farm.
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Life sure has a way of coming around full circle. The place Rev. Becca Stevens guided us through our vows 6 years ago and here she was blessing our baby in the same spot. Love and community and nature were floating through the air and circling around each child. As musicians played the huge crowd took turns walking down to the river to watch each child be blessed in the holy water. We circled around Oakes in the water and prayed for him as he was dunked, raised, and blessed in the cold Harpeth river water. Our dear friends Currier & Patrick are Oakes Godparents and we were so honored to have their presence and love for our boy.
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The prayer we said for Oakes: Let your eyes shine with the brightness of God's love and may it light your path with grace and wonder. We rejoice and give praise for every creation made beautiful by the hand of God. Blessing all in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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Becca said it the best:  I have always understood baptisms are really a blessing by the babies to the communities  that gets to embrace and welcome them, but to see such abundance and beauty on the farm named abundance on the most beautiful day of the year was breathtaking. Each family came with its own story of joys and sorrows, fears and hopes.  But down by the riverside it got laid aside for the sake of love for a minute.  We just got to feel how blessed we all are by being in each other's lives and holding one another as we try and embrace an eternal love in our temporal bodies.  It makes sense to me now to do that in the river water.  It is an endless flow that moves by us quickly.
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