Bekah's Baptism: The Back Story

If you missed Saturday's post, you might want to go back and catch up. What you're about to read will make a lot more sense once you know my background.

Like I said in that post, I grew up Quaker, and as result, I was never baptized. My sophomore year in college, I started attending a Wesleyan church, and the pastor asked me if I wanted to be baptized. I told him no. Not because I had an issue with it...but because I didn't see the point in doing it just to do it...just to fit in with everyone else. I told him if I felt the Lord urging me to be baptized, I'd do it. But I wanted the urging to come from Him. And my pastor let it go at that.

I left the Wesleyan church eleven years later, still "dry cleaned" as they say. I went back into the Quaker denomination (different church from the one where I grew up) - and in early 2010, I felt the urge.

I can't tell you the day or how it happened...but I knew in my heart the time had come. God wanted me to be baptized...with water.

Shortly after sensing that in my heart, I met Isaac. He was a minister - and as God impressed upon me that Isaac was also the one He wanted me to marry, He unfolded a beautiful picture of Isaac baptizing me. In Ephesians, the Bible talks about a husband loving his wife as Christ loves the church - washing her with water through the Word. I loved it. It was the best possible scenario. I could be obedient to God's promptings and enjoy the added blessing of being baptized by the man who would be my husband.

For reasons he never could articulate to me, Isaac never baptized me. I asked more than once - and he finally told me he couldn't, but couldn't tell me why. It broke my heart.

During my Christmas break this year, God put that urge back on my heart - stronger than ever. It was time. Isaac or no Isaac, He wanted me to be baptized.

I asked Him if He wanted me to do it right away or wait until it was warmer. (Ever since I began entertaining the idea of baptism, it was my dream to be baptized outside in a river or pond - just like Jesus.) He told me it was okay to wait so I could go with the outdoor plan, but He wanted it done.

And so it was that I contacted Brian Holland, the youth pastor at the Wesleyan church I attended for those eleven years, and asked him if he would be willing to baptize me, come summer. Without hesitation, he said yes. And it was settled - back in January. This was my year to obey.