Blessings Abound

This weekend we had one of those memorable and joyous family happenings here at our house. Several weeks ago my teenage daughter announced she wanted to be baptised. This was a joyful announcement for me as I don't baptize my children when they are infants. I do have them blessed when they are babies, but I feel being baptised is a choice they must make for it to really count. Anyway, yesterday was the day she chose.

After she compiled her personal list of people she wanted to be included we handed out invitations and all except one were able to attend. For us that meant a grand total of 42 people in our home for the grand event, as she chose to be totally immersed in our pool. When the Pastors performing the ceremony opened it up to anyone else who wanted to make their choice or anyone who wanted to be rebaptised, her younger brother decided it was a good day for him to do this as well. Now he had been talking about it for weeks as well, but this was her day, so I hadn't asked her to share it with him, but rather told him of course he could do this and we would choose a day for him. One of my own blessings came at the moment the offer for anyone to join her was made, as she looked at her little brother and said," Come on Peter, do this with me". Now the remarkable part of this to me is , as a teenager she is under most circumstances completely self absorbed! And yet given an opportunity to do something with or for someone else, she grasped the chance to go for it!

So my youngest daughter and my youngest son in the presence of their immediate family and our wonderful circle of closest friends and church family members were baptised together on July 18. It was a joyful day not only for them, but for me as their mother, as I watched them go under the water and come back up born again! They officially claimed their faith in that brief moment of time, and will be blessed beyond their comprehension as the days of their lives unfold.

For me it was a double blessing to watch as two more of my children took that leap of faith, and I now have four of my seven that have chosen to be Baptised. I look forward to watching them continue to grow in their faith, to help others grow in theirs, and to embrace them into mine in an entirely new way.