My youngest son,
Luke Edward Shelton,
joined our church last Sunday, November 27, 2016.
5 days before he will
be 14 years old.
My Rob and I
dedicated Luke to the Lord when he was 4 months old.
And when Luke was
around 3 years old, he asked Rob to baptize him.
We debated that
decision since Luke was so young
but Luke was VERY
certain that he was ready.
He even told us that
since he already believed in Jesus,
baptism was the next
thing.
So Rob baptized him (on the same night he baptized Anna and Wesley).
In hindsight, I feel
sure it was God’s timing that prompted our little Luke
so that he could be
baptized by his father before Rob's death.
When Anna and Wesley
joined the church, I was given the privilege of presenting them to the
congregation for membership. Since Luke
joined on the same day as many others, the minister presented the group as a
whole for membership.
It was a great day.
Watching my youngest
join our church.
He wore one of his
dad’s ties
and cloaked himself in his dad’s overcoat for
the trip there.
It was a day Luke had
contemplated for years.
Literally.
And he will not make
them until he is ready.
As in every single
thing since Luke has existed,
he made this decision
on his own terms.
He has always done
things in his own way.
And I learned a long
time ago not to push.
Admittedly, it is sometimes
exasperating for me while I’m waiting on a decision.
But it’s always
inspiring that,
no matter what,
he cannot be swayed
from what he
believes.
I have learned
patience from my Luke in so many ways.
But the staunchness
of his character has always been my reward.
I only cried twice as
Luke joined our church.
As much as we like
our preacher,
I did cry a bit at the thought that I wish it could have been
Luke’s daddy confirming our son
and how proud of him his father would be.
But those thoughts
didn’t last long since most of my thoughts were about
my boy
standing tall in
front of me.
About how much
thought and prayer and discussion and time
we had put into
his
decision.
And how much his
actions during this process showed me that he is becoming
a man.
I was so very proud
of him for deciding to join
but I was also proud
of him last year when he decided not to.
For it takes true
maturity and bravery and knowledge of self to go against what is customary to
know when it’s not yet time to make vows of membership and when it is.
So the tears that
started when it was time for Luke to be individually prayed for
and confirmed by
the preacher
were tears of pride and joy of the present
and hope for my
Luke’s future…
…much like they were
when I stood beside his father and we dedicated our Luke to the Lord when he
was 4 months old and I teared up with pride and joy of the present and hope for
his future.
Just as the timing of
my son’s birth during Advent 2002 made me so mindful of the
HOPE one little
baby can bring to the world,
so did his joining
the church during Advent 2016 make me so mindful of the
HOPE one young man
can bring to his mama.
Whether it’s fair or
not or whether it’s healthy or not,
the blunt truth is
that Luke (along with his older siblings)
is what’s given me
HOPE for our future
on days when I just
couldn’t find any.
HOPE is the ultimate
precursor to change.
Lack thereof fuels stagnation.
It was Luke,
(who was so very young when his dad died)
on many days,
who pushed me to move
out of stagnation
toward HOPE
by simply
needing me.
And now,
years later,
as I watched my Luke
join our church on the day
the Advent wreath HOPE
candle was burning brightly,
I couldn’t help but
remember and be thankful that the
HOPE
for our Luke’s future that was ignited
in his father’s and my heart years ago
still burns brightly
in mine.
I was blessed.
I am blessed.
To My Luke,
I cannot wait to see
how God continues to use you for His Kingdom
and
I HOPE and pray I’ve guided and served
you well on your journey!
With all of my love,
Mama
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And just so it will all be in one place, I'm going to repost below
what I wrote about the day Anna and Wesley joined the church in 2013.
To My Anna and My Wesley
My daughter and my son joined the church today. I presented them for membership and my father asked them the questions to receive them into membership. It was a great day.
What follows is my presentation of them to the congregation:
"Anna and Wesley,
When you were babies, I stood beside your father and held each of you as we dedicated you to the Lord, with your Paw Paw presiding over each of the services. Your father and I were so thankful that God had chosen us to parent each one of you and we wanted to do nothing less than lead you to Christ.
That’s what we vowed to do on each of those days.
(Anna - 1996)
(Wesley - 2000)
When you were older, your father and I were thrilled as each one of you repented of your sins, asked Jesus into your hearts, and trusted Him to be your Savior.
Our prayers for your spiritual births had been answered.
When you were each yet a little older, I stood and watched you both as your father baptized you. You both had stated that you were ready for this outward and visible sign of grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Your father and I felt so blessed.
Our prayers for your spiritual growth had been answered.
Today, on this Father’s Day,
I stand alone,
to present you, Anna Elizabeth Shelton, and you, Wesley Robert Shelton,
for membership into our church.
And as I watch you today take personal responsibility for your own church memberships and you bind yourselves to this church through the voluntary vows you will speak ---
--- I will know the circle is complete
– from the first services when you were babies with your Paw Paw presiding over the questions for us as parents
- to your salvation
- to the day your father baptized you
- to today as your Paw Paw will ask you the questions of membership into the church.
And I will rejoice and be thankful that the prayers your father prayed during his lifetime and my continued prayers for you to choose to join the church will be answered."
