Throughout my past four years down in South Florida I have found myself at different churches through different seasons. This has truly opened my eyes to many interpretations of God’s word and forced me to open my own Bible and really check things out for myself. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Grams always told me that it didn’t matter what church I went to, as long as they were preaching directly from the word of God. I have now learned for myself that this IS what’s most important!
One of the topics I’ve really struggled with is baptism. I was baptized as an infant and was blessed to have my parents raise me in the church surrounded by believers. But, as I was challenged to open my own Bible to see what God’s word says, I continued to find that this is a step in obedience that is supposed to happen after you make a conscious decision to accept Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your Lord and Savior.
Well, I know I was a pretty smart baby, BUT I also know at the moment of my baptism I could not articulate that I had accepted Jesus, the Son of God, as my Lord and Savior and knew what baptism meant. So…to be honest…I sat in it for the past year and a half. In my mind, I had already been baptized and been a Christian for years. AND yes, I know, pride is one of those things I really struggle with.
Then God began to bring really interesting people and situations into my life and had me chew on His word a little bit more. The idea of baptism sat in the back of my mind and He continued to pull on my heart. As I have been focused on seeing God’s grace in my life every day (specifically this year though this blog), I have felt my heart soften and done A LOT of work in overcoming challenges in my life. AND to round it all out – He took the least deserving example in my life, my Mom, and showed me along with all of you what a FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE really looks like. What a BLESSING each and every day is that He gives to us. And God did what He does so well, he put me right back on my knees and I was reminded that His way is the ONLY way to get THE MOST JOY out of our short time here on earth. So I said Lord, I will obey.
I saw that the next baptism at church was set for April 30, 2011 (yesterday). I told my family I was going to take this step when I got back home from Easter weekend and they all surrounded me with much love and support. I also mentioned that I was going to be baptized to a dear friend of mine who has been there for me every step of the way as I have fought through many challenges down here in Florida. What a PERFECT person to come along and support me in taking this step in obedience.
Ashley truly is a blessing! She woke up bright and early Saturday morning to head to the beach on a day she could have slept in and she was GRATEFUL to be a part of it! I picked her up just before 8:00am and she had her video camera in hand so we could send photos and video back to the family. We parked and headed to the beach! I won’t say much more, because Ashley took the rest of the day to put together one of the BEST gifts I have EVER been given. She compiled this video of the entire experience and I wanted to share with all of you.
One quick side note before you watch. I picked a random line to be baptized in. As we saw who the Pastor was that was going to baptize me, she recognized that it was Pastor Greg. He not only baptized Ashley, but also married her and her husband. Pastor Greg’s wife has also been a wonderful mentor to Ashley. Just another AMAZING example of God’s grace!
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:
Before we were all baptized we had a time for worship where the Pastor explained what baptism is and what it means. He encouraged all of us to leave a stain in the water. Whatever it was we walked into that water with (as we were plunged under the water) we had the opportunity to leave it all behind. Not only did I leave a BIG stain, but I have NEVER felt SO light in all of my life! J
Where have you seen God’s grace in your life today?