Love & Dedication: “We Laugh, We Cry”
This wonderful weekend went quickly. We celebrated our son’s dedication to the Unitarian Universalist church we attend with all the grandparents (on National Grandparents Day!) and friends and family and family friends — and, unfortunately, our van — in tow….
Yes, the day had its hiccups, but who really cares about those? They don’t last. What lasts are the memories, the photographs, and the intention of ritual — the dedication to the people you love.
The weekend was full of love — today especially. Needless to say, by end of the day our little guy was overwhelmed with love (or, he just needed a nap…!)
This song from the UU hymnal sums it all up:
#354 We Laugh, We Cry
“We laugh, we cry, we live, we die;
We dance, we sing our song.
We need to feel there’s something here
to which we can belong.
We need to feel the freedom
just to have some time alone.
But most of all we need close friends
we can call our very own.
“And we believe in life, and in the strength of love;
And we have found a need to be together.
We have our hearts to give; we have our thoughts to receive;
And we believe that sharing is an answer.
“A child is born among us and
We feel a special glow
We see time’s endless journey
As we watch the baby grow.
We thrill to hear imagination
Freely running wild.
We dedicate our minds and hearts
To the spirit of this child.”
“And we believe in life, and in the strength of love;
And we have found a time to be together.
And with the grade of age, we share the wonder of youth;
And we believe that growing is an answer.
“Our lives are full of wonder and
Our time is very brief.
The death of one among us
Fills us all with pain and grief.
But as we live, so shall we die
And when our lives are done
The memories we shared with friends,
They will linger on and on.
“And we believe in life, and in the strength of love;
And we have found a place to be together.
We have the right to grow; we have the gift to believe
That peace within our living is an answer.
“We seek elusive answers to
The questions of this life.
We seek to put an end to all
The waste of human strife.
We search for truth, equality,
And blessed peace of mind.
And then, we come together here
To make sense of what we find.
And we believe in life, and in the strength of love;
And we have found a joy being together.
And in our search for peace, maybe we’ll finally see,
even to question, truly, is an answer.”
I have yet to get through this song without crying. It gets me every time, and it is the only time I can remember being moved to tears in church.
For his dedication ceremony, our son was given a rose to represent his spiritual journey and our dedication to help it grow. Tonight I photographed the rose in front of a vision board I created two winters ago that hangs on our fridge. Yes, that is a little boy petting a dog (that looks a lot like Bronn!) in the corner of the collage. Talk about some intentional vision….
“And we believe in life and in the strength of love…”
Happy Grandparents Day!
