Judah's Dedication
On November 20, 2016 we stood before our church and dedicated Judah to the Lord.
We explained to our church family that we desire to raise Judah according to God's plan; we want to love him as God loves us. We want to teach him God's ways and instill good morals and values in him. But we cannot do this alone. We stood before our church and several friends who came for the occasion, asking them to help us, to hold us accountable to this commitment, and to walk along side of us as we raise our son. Our greatest desire is that they'd help us to help Judah know Jesus.
Then began the hardest week of our [brief 5 1/2 months of] parenting lives.
At Judah's 4 month check-up, we noticed that he was not gaining much weight. It was a bit concerning, but not urgent. As the doctor said, Judah is just a "petit mangeur" - a little eater. When he had actually lost weight at his 5 month appointment, it became more concerning and we began working harder to determine both the root of the problem and a solution. I'll spare you the details, but it was an emotional week as we sought to best care for Judah and help him gain weight rather than just maintain.*
And that was before he got sick with a nasty cough and cold, the first in his life.
As I journaled about this particular week - for both the purpose of processing in the moment and remembering later - I was reminded of what we had done just one week before.
We believe that it takes a village to raise a child - especially when our families are thousands of miles and another continent away. Yet as we stood before Le Rivage asking them to help us raise Judah, I don't think I realized just how desperately we really need them. We need them to loan us a humidifier. We need them to pray for us. We need them to encourage us and tell us to keep going. We need them to bring us food. We need them to babysit. We need them to point us - all 3 of us - to Jesus. Every. Single. Day.
We thank God for the gift of Judah. We praise Him for sending the perfect friend to visit at the perfect time. And we pray that God would use His Church to help us raise Judah according to His will and purpose.
*Now, at 7 months, Judah has gained weight and is doing much better. Praise God!
Photo Credit for top 4 photos: Kelsey Kirkegaard
We explained to our church family that we desire to raise Judah according to God's plan; we want to love him as God loves us. We want to teach him God's ways and instill good morals and values in him. But we cannot do this alone. We stood before our church and several friends who came for the occasion, asking them to help us, to hold us accountable to this commitment, and to walk along side of us as we raise our son. Our greatest desire is that they'd help us to help Judah know Jesus.
Then began the hardest week of our [brief 5 1/2 months of] parenting lives.
At Judah's 4 month check-up, we noticed that he was not gaining much weight. It was a bit concerning, but not urgent. As the doctor said, Judah is just a "petit mangeur" - a little eater. When he had actually lost weight at his 5 month appointment, it became more concerning and we began working harder to determine both the root of the problem and a solution. I'll spare you the details, but it was an emotional week as we sought to best care for Judah and help him gain weight rather than just maintain.*
And that was before he got sick with a nasty cough and cold, the first in his life.
As I journaled about this particular week - for both the purpose of processing in the moment and remembering later - I was reminded of what we had done just one week before.
We thank God for the gift of Judah. We praise Him for sending the perfect friend to visit at the perfect time. And we pray that God would use His Church to help us raise Judah according to His will and purpose.
*Now, at 7 months, Judah has gained weight and is doing much better. Praise God!
Photo Credit for top 4 photos: Kelsey Kirkegaard
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