A Life-Changing Baptism
Nowadays, one of my favorite things is going to church. Seriously. It's crazy how much I enjoy church, especially with my history.
I haven't always liked church. In fact, I used to despise it. I cried when I had to go with my parents or grandparents. That really makes me sad today because I missed out on some awesome stuff.
Anyway, when I was 13 my cousin Hunter was born. His dad, my uncle Brian, was in the Navy. Normally, the church doesn't do baptisms in December because of all the business and excitement going on with Christmas, but because there were a few other military people in, they made an exception.
Needless to say, I DID NOT want to go. I cried, complained, whatever I could do to get myself out of going. Of course, my parents were never going to let me miss it, so I had to go. Plus, they were the Godparents.
"Ugh!!! I HATE church!!! Why?" I thought.
Luckily God would reveal this ever important WHY sooner than I'd ever expected. :)
I stormed into the church and promptly sat down with my head down and a fire burning in my heart. I'll show them. I won't watch, I won't listen. I HATE this!
The priest was asking all the families a few questions and then proceeded on with the ceremony. My little 2-month old cousin, Hunter, was up first.
Hunter's parents, my own parents, and the priest were all standing to together. My mom was holding Hunter, and as she passed him so that the official splash of water could be done, it hit me.
He's the one who did this.
He's the One who made it all happen.
It was Him.
You simply can't deny the miracle of life.
He is our father or fathers, our bane of existence, the one who keeps us going with each breath we take.
Hunter's parents and my parents were standing up there, but there was also another parent looking over us.
It was one of those moments... you know, where your parents are actually right about something, but you could never let them know that!
I pretended it was horrible and all, but it really wasn't. I've liked church ever since. It was a memorable step for me in my faith journey.The first step is always the hardest, right?
As I write all of this down, I figure out that there was a lot more to it than I thought. We don't get saved in just one day. It's a longer journey than that. Mine all happened when I was 13. I never really saw any of these things (especially this Baptism) as remarkable or life-changing, but they were.
And do you know when all of this happened? Only the day after our savior's birth (2,000+ years later) on December 26th.
"Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,"- 2 Timothy 1:9
Blessings!
Isn't is wonderful that now you look back and see the remarkable and life changing experience for you on that day? Thank you for sharing your testimony. I had to laugh when you said that your parents were absolutely right but you could never let them know that! Ha! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteSydney, what a great story! And what a blessing that your parents were strong and made you go to church! Thank you so much for sharing. I'm glad you linked up!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story, Sydney! I love how God can use what seem to be insignificant events in our life and turn them into life changing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I found your post through the Remarkable Faith series over at Giving up on Perfect. :)
I love how God chooses to speak to us WHEN he wants, WHERE he wants, and, for me, it's usually in the times when I least expect it or when I am - like you wrote - fighting him tooth & nail! I also think infant baptisms are really special because there may not be anything that points to the sovereign Creator more than a precious baby!
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