Several wonderful blessings at church this morning. The first is that I had the privilege of baptizing two of my grandchildren, the twins Chloe and Titus. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, including the blessing of God’s generational kindness and promises.
The second blessing was a dedication, not a baptism. A family in our church — the Russ and Lisa Qualls — recently adopted three children from Ethiopia. Two of them were baptized a month or so ago, but the oldest, a girl named Kalkidan, was dedicated today. She was dedicated because she had already been baptized. She was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in October of 2001. Her uncle was an Orthodox priest, and she was baptized in the Orthodox Church on the eightieth day after her birth which is their tradition for girls. The Qualls adopted her this last January, and she joined her new family in May. Tomorrow on Christmas Eve, Kalkidan, and her two siblings from Ethiopia, Ebenezer and Wogayu, will all be granted American citizenship.
Just recently Lisa Qualls was reading the children the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers and how only one of them returned to thank Him. She asked the kids some questions about the incident and then asked, “Is there something that Jesus has done for you that you want to thank him for?” Kalkidan said, “Yes”. When Lisa asked her what it was, she put her head down and said, “Jesus come and give me family.”