Yesterday we had the privilege of having Ben baptized at our church. My dad was able to be the elder to stand up with our family. Our other 4 children were able to be there to watch (Abigail came home from college, yeah!) as well as my family. So sweet to have so many people come around and share this moment with Ben.
Honestly, I was very worried about how yesterday would go. With 2 boys with Down syndrome, I never know how they will act especially in public. If they do misbehave, it often means just throwing in the towel, giving up and going home. This is especially true of our little Jonah because when he goes off the rails, it is usually a meltdown you just have to suffer through and then regroup when its done.
So it was with great trepidation that I tried my best to prepare the little boys for what was going to happen in church on Sunday. Ben and I met with Pastor Al to go through a "walk through" of baptism. I made a baptism social story that we went over each day this past week. And throughout the week, I asked the Lord to bless this baptism and help both boys behave. My concern about Ben was that he would not tolerate the water on his forehead. My concern for Jonah was that he would throw a fit because he would want to be baptized too.
Well the Lord blessed us in huge ways yesterday- beyond what I could have ever imagined!
The boys were very well behaved, but even more than that was the beautiful moments that transpired during the baptism.
First, during the baptism, Jonah sat up front with the other children in church as part of the children's message. On baptism days, the kids get to have a front row seat to the baptism. Jonah sat by two little girls who are classmates of his in 5K. These two girls were little mother hens to our Jonah. One put her arm around him and kept telling him it was ok, and the other patted him on the hand and leg and gave him encouragement. This helped keep Jonah to sit still and not interrupt the baptism. It was a precious show of love and care by these 2 little girls for their new friend Jonah. Thank you Lord!
In regards to Ben, as Pastor Al placed his hand and water on his forehead, little Ben had such a look of joy- like he knew this was a very special moment of the family of God welcoming him to the fold. Then Pastor Al took Ben's hand and walked him around the sanctuary to introduce him to the congregation, This happened as the song "Not for a Moment" was being sung. We had requested this song because it has such special meaning to us about Ben being under God's constant love and care during the first 6 years of his life as he waited for a family. Ben walked with Pastor Al with a smile on his face, waving to the people in the pews. To me, it looked like genuine happiness on his part.
Then the moment that only could have been orchestrated by the Lord, When Pastor Al returned Ben to our pew, Ben came and hugged and kissed Andrew, me, his Grandpa, and then moved to the next pew and did the same to Abigail, Stephen, and Lydia. He knows he belongs to us, we are his family and he loves us! There weren't many dry eyes yesterday morning in church as people observed Ben acknowledging us as his family! It was one of the most beautiful precious moments I have ever been part of. What a privilege and joy for our family!
I cannot say enough of a thank you to the Lord for blessing us in such a special way yesterday. During this period of adjusting to having Ben in our family, we sometimes go through moments where we wonder if we are doing right by our other kids because we now have the added responsibility of Ben. Andrew and I had just had one of those difficult heartfelt conversations on Saturday, asking the Lord for wisdom and guidance in helping our new family of 7. Then the Lord gave us this huge show of validation yesterday- Ben is meant to be in our family, there is no doubt about it. It doesn't mean it will always be easy, but it will be worth it.
Yesterday was too amazing of a day to not share- thank you Lord for what you did!
Along with the celebration of Ben's baptism, we also celebrated our niece Melanie's 18th birthday.
A very special and fun day indeed!
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