Baptism

Samuel,

May God be in your head and in your understanding;

God be in your eyes and in all you see;

God be on your lips and all of your speaking;

God be in your hearrt, and all your loving.

God at your beginning and God at your end.

It is a sacred moment to hold your grandchild

and bless him as the congregation looks on.

Surrounded by extended family, parents, children, in-laws, grandchildren...

suddenly the communion of saints becomes real and has a body,

a small, fragile body that could, in a moment, turn into tears,

or just as easily, dissolve into laughter.

Holding this new life 

seems as familiar as your own children felt when they were babies.

You talk about mortality and are reminded that life -- every life -- is a gift.

Life and beauty are given to us to have and hold for only a moment,

and that moment is a glimpse of eternity.