Godparents

I'm not sold on the role of godparents. We plan to have a baptism, but if it's up to me, it will be just Ben and I standing at the front of the church.

Though my godfather (who is also my great-uncle) is still involved and interested in my life, most godparents are completely absent. Last weekend, Ben saw his godmother for the first time in 20 years. He wouldn't even have known who she was if his mom wouldn't have been with us.

Traditionally, godparents were chosen to lead a child in their journey with Christ. I can't say I'm eager to pick someone out for that, especially since I'm not sure where I stand when it comes to religion. I like to consider myself spiritual. I believe in heaven and higher power, but I'm not really sure what it all means or how it all fits together.

In the more modern sense, godparents are close friends or family members that you assign to hold a special place in your child's life. I'm all for this. There are several people that I hope have a strong relationship with our child and our family. But shouldn't those relationships grow organically over time? It seems a bit premature to assign someone to a permanent position in your childs life when they are 4 weeks old.