BABY BLESSING
In a world where there
is trouble at home and abroad, the blessing of a newborn infant doesn’t make
the headlines . . . but perhaps it should. Gideon Michael Cope was given a name
and a blessing today. He is my grandson.
Earlier on this bright summer
morning before church began, I watched as his mother Arianne lovingly dressed her
newborn son in white. In another part of their home, Gideon’s father Jared knelt
to ask for heaven’s guidance as he blessed his newborn son.
I watched as family
gathered and shared good food in the back yard of my daughter’s home to
celebrate the occasion – a fitting feast. Then later we all walked together to the
Mormon church two blocks away.
Once inside the chapel,
we prayed and sang a hymn. Then his father, two grandfathers and a dozen uncles
surrounded Gideon in a protective circle. I watched as each man reached inside
the circle and placed one hand beneath the child and the other hand on the
shoulder of the man standing next to them.
Then Jared gave his new
son a name and a father’s blessing. It seemed as though the circle of those who
love Gideon kept expanding to include all who love him both here on earth and
beyond the veil. For never is God’s love more real than in His gift of a new
child to us. Now in this place, there is new light and hope.
After the blessing my
daughter stood before the congregation and bore her testimony of the atonement
of Jesus Christ. She said, “I am so grateful that I have the privilege of being
a mother so that I can understand in some small way the new birth the Savior
offers all of us.”
Perhaps it is in these
loving circles of family - where those who have gone before and those who
follow us – keep us from falling and show us the light. Through both water and
blood new life is born and we are all new once again.
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