Introducing Charlie

My seventh nephew was born on March 13! Charlie arrived quickly in the early morning hours and I was excited to be able to go and visit Megan and Dennis, George and Charlie that weekend. He was so sweet. The first time I held him, I thought, "Well, he fits!" My kids loved getting the chance to hold him, the girls were especially enamored. Mari just kept asking to hold him. He was baptized on April 14th and I was blessed to be one of his godparents.

 

 

 

Charlie's Baptism day was an emotional one for me. After he was baptized and we returned to the pew, I was holding him and he fell asleep. The congregation began singing "Revelation Song," whose lyrics are pulled from the book of Revelation...the praises sung to God. The chorus is:

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!
Yeah!


Well, I began to weep quietly, because here I was holding my sweet godson, who had moments before been welcomed into the kingdom of God through baptism, and we were singing words  to God that all of heaven sings. All I could think about in that moment was heaven's rejoicing over Charlie and the fact that my sweet baby and beloved mother-in-law were there singing and rejoicing with the whole company of heaven. I am moved  to tears even recounting this. I am amazed at the dichotomy of grief. On this day the tears flowed freely, but this time they were not only tears for the pain of my loss, they were tears of joy that is found only in Christ and they were tears of hope that one day I too would be a part of the whole company of heaven.