Knighting Ceremony

We recently had the most wonderful birthday celebration for our oldest son, Josiah.  He was turning 18 - officially becoming a man!  For his 13th birthday, we had a ceremony where he was dubbed (with a plastic sword and simple costume) a squire, or knight-in-training.  Now it was time to dub him officially a knight, after the tradition of the Knights Templar.  This time it was a real tunic, a real sword, a real shield, and a real helmet.  Each piece of the outfit had a significance based on the armor of God listed in Ephesians 6:13-17:

¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

It seems like only yesterday he was a sweet baby ready to explore his world.  Now he is a charming, bright, caring man, full of faith and ready to follow God's path for his life.  In 35 days (not that I'm counting or anything!) we drive him to Patrick Henry College to continue his lifelong pursuit of wisdom and knowledge.  Oh, how we will miss his wit, his laughter, and his kindness!  We have worked on giving him solid roots, now it is time to let him test his wings.  He is ready, and God is always faithful to guide and direct those who seek after Him with all of their hearts and all of their lives.  We love you so much, Josiah, and we are so proud of the fine young man you have become!