Baptism Reflections

 

This past Sunday was a ministry first for me. Our church had a baptism service at a pond, and I had the privilege of helping with one of the baptisms.

                I realize the phrase “I had the privilege of…” is often used, and it’s probably lost meaning in the frequency of its use. But for me, it really was a deep privilege to get to stand in the water beside someone making a public declaration of faith. It was a privilege to pray over his life.

                Our church always encourages those attending a baptism to remember their own, and I always do. But this time I remembered it in a new way. I remembered how nervous I felt to walk into that water. I had so many questions. What if I lost my footing? What if I got stuck under the water? What if he dropped me?

                I wished I could get a dress rehearsal so I could enjoy the moment. But there aren’t dress rehearsals for baptisms, and when the moment came, and I made my way into the middle of the water, God allowed me to forget all the things that had consumed my thoughts, and I focused on the joy of my declaration.

                I knew some of our candidates were worried about the same things that had once plagued me. I knew some were worried about fish nibbling at their legs and the muck of sand and rocks under their feet. It made sense to me. I prayed for each of them as they went into the water – that God would grant them the same favor He granted me, and that in the moment, they would be able to be in the moment.

                And so I sat beside the row of them Sunday, praying and cheering them on as they took their respective turns in the water. I walked out with my own nerves raging. What if I lost my footing? What if people are harder to pull up out of the water than I imagined? What if the fish bit me?

                If the fish did any nibbling, I was too caught up in the moment to notice it. What I did notice was the sweetness of God’s presence surrounding the three of us out there in the pond.

                I have no idea how often I’ll be called upon to be part of such a moment, but I am confident that each one will be meaningful. I know this one will hold a special place in my soul forever, because it was the first one.

                May I never lose the wonder of what baptisms represent – or the wonder of standing in witness to these sacred moments.