Tomorrow, Missy will be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of her sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is possibly the sweetest day in any parent's life. It has been so wonderful over the course of the past year to see Missy internalize the truths of the Bible that we've been teaching her and to put together for herself that she needed to be saved and that she needed the Holy Spirit's help in her life. That said, we were still hesitant to let her be baptized at such a young age. But she persisted for months, asking again and again, "Can I be baptized?" Who am I to stand in the way of her salvation, when clearly the Lord had called her to Him?
So, we will go to the beach tomorrow with the rest of the church and her earthly father will baptize her in the name of her Heavenly Father. And then my daughter will become my sister in Christ.
And what will that mean for me? She will be part of the body of Christ, and I will be there to disciple her. Oh, how I pray for wisdom more than ever, for I see that the easy part is over. Speaking of Christ's sacrifice and our sin is simple; our need for redemption is obvious, even to a kindergartener. But, the real test is teaching her how to live as a child of God when I am still working out my own salvation with much fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12).
I am so thankful, though, that I have the privilege of being both her mother, and her sister. And together we can joyfully await Christs returning — for it is nearer now than ever.
"I am coming soon." Revelation 3:11
What a wonderful day for you all! I can’t wait to hear about it.
This is just wonderful Amanda! I was saved at the age of six and it’s a very vivid memory for me. I’m always so excited to hear of young children following the Lord!
Amanda,
I’m enjoying your blog immensely! Your words in writing give me a whole new insight into your joys and struggles from day to day. Praise God that he is ultimately in control and that he will use us in our children’s lives despite ourselves!
Thank you! It was a great day. I will hopefully post about it later, with some pictures, but it’s Monday
, so it might not be until tonight. (I have a Mt. Everest of laundry today!!!)
Amy, I’m glad to know that you remember your baptism so vividly! We want to make sure Missy does, too.
VRooM, thanks for visiting my blog, and for commenting. And what you said is so true:
“that he will use us in our children’s lives despite ourselves! ” I am so thankful for that!
I actually wasn’t baptised until I was 13. Until then I hadn’t felt the conviction to be baptised. My baptism is a vivid memory too! One funny thing happened actually. We had to wear these billowing white robes over our clothes and when we walked into the tank they would fill with air and “poof” up over the water. The pastor had to try three times because all that buoyancy from the air made it difficult to completely submerge me!
LOL, Amy!