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Oh baptism! The beauty and glory of publicly declaring that Jesus is the Lord of your life! To me, it’s always a magical day, even if I don’t know the people getting baptized. Just knowing someone has decided that Jesus is the Lord of their life and they want the whole world to know is a celebration all it’s own.
This past weekend I had a plan to have my daughter baptized at the beach. We had been waiting for years. First, I wanted her to be old enough to understand what it really meant and make the decision herself. She did that about two years ago but somehow the opportunity kept getting thwarted.
First there was Covid which made it difficult because we couldn’t get everyone together to be a part of it. Then the storm of Covid passed and we were reconsidering again. In January of this year we were going to give it a go. Then there was a huge scandal in my church. One that would have tainted the baptism.
One of the pastors from this church though, my favorite one, broke away and started her own church. I was thrilled to be a part of her journey and the best part was because it was new it was also small. We got really close to the church members and pastor. We all fast became family. So, we finally had a great scenario! Pastor Vanessa was going to baptize our daughter at the beach on a Sunday at 2pm.
When I get to church that morning another member of the church informed me that it takes about an hour to get into the beach on a Sunday. I am not a beachgoer, so this was total news to me. I was thinking of cancelling, so I texted my mom asking her advice. (I may be 34 but I still need my mom to walk me thru life.) She texted back, "Dad said to do it here in the pool!"
I was ecstatic and so was the rest of the church. The Devil kept coming at us and trying to stop this beautiful moment from happening, but God could not be stopped. God will always make a way when it is in His perfect plan.
So, we headed to my mom's and got ready to baptize Layla. Everyone gathered and my mom decided she was going to get baptized. Then my friends 2 sons wanted to get baptized and another teen in the church as well. It was beautiful! Almost a 'pop-up baptism' in some ways.
I was later thinking about how that house has seen so much. When I was 12 my sisters (stepsisters, but we don't use that term), lost their mother in that house. She was a wonderful person full of love that brings the term 'heaven gained an angel' to mind. But in God's grace He would restore that house and our family.
I am one of 5 children which puts us at 10 grandchildren in the family. It has seen so many 'firsts', milestones, birthdays, Christmas', Easter's, Thanksgivings and all other holidays. My husband and I had our first date and kiss there. Later, we had our wedding reception right there in the driveway. My grandmother spent her last years there being doted on by my loving mother. And now, it has seen the baptism of 5 amazing people.
Baptism is Jesus washing us clean of our sins, giving us a fresh start. And just like the house that had seen a terrible tragedy God washed it clean and made it fresh. The moral of the story is that God will always bring good out of bad, even when death or Satan have tainted it. Our all-powerful God will always lead us back to Him, His kindness and His goodness. Can I get an Amen?
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