Haven Lia's Fruity 1st Birthday & Dedication

Just like with weddings, it was also my first time to attend a Baby Dedication last weekend. My goddaughter Haven Lia celebrated it in one with her 1st Birthday at KFC St. Joseph, E. Rodriguez, Quezon City on July 14.

Let me squeeze in a little FYI here: Unlike the Roman Catholic part of the population, Born-again Christians get baptized as a decision to publicly declare that they are surrendering their life to Jesus. Obviously, a 1-year old child does not have the capacity to decide on which spiritual track to choose yet so instead of infant baptism, we have Baby Dedication as a way of welcoming the child to the world and submitting his/her life to our Creator. This is more of a way for the family, relatives, and friends of the parents to celebrate with them, support them as they raise their child in a manner God wants them to (Ephesians 6:4, Proverbs 22:6, Proverbs 29:17, Psalm 127:3-5), and stand with them in prayer until the day the child can already make a decision on his/her own to follow God.

The scripture provided us an example of this through Hannah:

1 Samuel 1:26-28 

"As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there. 

Now let's take a glimpse on how I wrapped up my weekend.

Just by the sight of this cake, you would know the theme of the party.

Lovely dress for the lovely baby.

Real fruits disappeared immediately thanks to the boys.

Giveaways c/o KFC

Bananas 'n pajamas parents with the apple
of their eye

My favorite part of the venue! The photographer daddy & the director/stylist mommy got to document the 

baby from Day 1 to Day 365. Art wall designed by Ms. Art Department herself, Ninang Ghea.

with fellow ninang, Ghea

guestbook

The Estacio couple with their borrowed Bebe Mikhaila

Donna, Wreuel, and Haven Lia with Pastor Jam Capistrano during the dedication.

Here is ending this with short paragraphs of a long story. Haven Lia is the answer to a 7-year-old prayer. Donna & Wreuel lost their first child years ago. It was painful, yes. But being with this couple made me realize even more how only God can provide such comfort in grief. They didn't just recover from the loss, they became more hopeful than before. They waited on God expectantly. I remember the countless times Donna would tell our group (she leads our discipleship group) that giving up is not an option, that God is faithful, and that prayer is powerful. Hearing these words from someone who have all the reason to give up on praying and run away from God altogether is just overwhelming. God's grace should be working in this woman's life because without a doubt, human strength alone cannot surpass this kind of circumstance. I don't need to be in that situation to have a grasp on how hard it is to lose someone let alone a baby whom for 9 long months we have painstakingly carried and which practically joined in unity with us in aspects more than just physical.

Fast forward to seven years later, I got a text message bearing the most awaited good news -- Donna was pregnant. I'm not exaggerating but goosebumps-fest just happened all over my body and I started crying. That's an answered prayer for me too as I have been praying for it since I met them in 2009. It became so personal to me that when God finally gave it, it felt like I was the one given the gift. The joy was so real I didn't know what to do or say at that moment so I just let the tears do the talking.

Heavenly Haven Lia at 6 months

No wonder this little cutie pie has a lot of mommies and daddies. She's a blessing to all of us.

Have a blessed mid-week everyone!