Little e's Dedication

Yesterday we had little e dedicated (just like baptism, only crunchy) at church. E and I spoke a lot about dedication vs. baptism, and found it difficult to come to a decision, mainly because they both seemed right and good to us. In the end, we decided on dedication, as we saw this as a way of saying that we saw little e as a gift from God, and that we were publicly 'giving her back' to Him.

What made it click for me, was linking it to Hannah in the Old Testament. All Hannah wants is a child. She prays and prays, year after year, never giving up. Then God finally gives her a little boy (Samuel), and the first thing she does is give him back to God, 'dedicating' his life to Him. In fact she sends him off to live at the temple. That strikes me as pretty bizarre and amazing-- you want something sooooo much, and then you give it away?

But for me, it is acknowledging Who gave us our daughter, and thanking Him, and saying that her little life is His, not ours. I do find it hard to 'relinquish ownership', but the truth is, she never belonged to me. She has always belonged to God, and He knows her, loves her, and will take care of her infinitely better than I ever could.