Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14
This weekend we celebrated Pearl’s dedication at our church. This is the event where Peter and I, as her parents, make a public declaration of our intent to raise Pearl to know the Lord and we acknowledge her life as a gift from God. It’s also a time when our church promises to help us in this endeavour. I have always loved baby dedications and it was so wonderful to celebrate this moment in our girl’s life.
It can be a daunting thought – to take on the responsibility of another human’s spiritual growth. It is our hope and prayer that as Pearl grows, she will know God in a powerful and meaningful way. And the beautiful thing is that Peter and I are not left to this responsibility alone.
When I think back to the weeks and events leading up to my pregnancy with Pearl, it was a time when I felt God’s presence very closely in my life. A hard and difficult time but there were moments of beauty, when I felt closer to my Saviour than I ever had before.
As I was remembering those moments, I wondered why I haven’t felt that same presence of God in the months since Pearl was born. And then I realized – I have. It just looked a little different. God was in the hands that our church elders laid on Peter and I as we prepared to meet our child, not knowing what her health would be. God was in the voices and prayers of people around the world who prayed with and for us as we waited, who prayed as we were in the hospital, who celebrated when Pearl was born. He was present in the e-mails, the text messages, the phone calls, the cards. God was at work in His body, His church. And His body has fed us and prayed for us, held our baby and showered us with love in the months since. Looking back over the first ten months of parenthood, we have been so blessed by our community and this weekend we were blessed once more as they stood with us, promising to help us raise this little one.
We were fortunate, too, to have both sides of our family be there with us. Our little house was full of food, games, and mattresses on the floor for the weekend!
Karissa Reads Books 
Love that, about God’s presence. He manifests in so many different ways in different times for different people. We are never alone!
Thanks! It can be so amazing to think about all the ways God works – something I need to remember more often!