Yesterday was a beautiful day at the beach. The weather was pleasant, the sky was blue, and the air was filled with the smells of sea salt and barbeques. My family and I joined a few hundred others from our church for our annual baptism and picnic.
This year was extra special because one of my daughters was getting baptized. We hadn’t pushed the issue at all. We want each of our children to recognize for themselves when they want to make this public statement of their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. So when our daughter stated she wanted to be baptized this year, we were pleased.
However, we wanted to make sure she understood what baptism was all about. We discussed the issue at length, read various Bible verses and explained that baptism symbolized the death to sin and rising to a new life. She understood it all and was looking forward to it except for one thing. She didn’t like the dunking part of it.
We arrived at the beach fairly early and went to explore the area where our church always holds its baptism. My daughter got a chance to splash around and get used to her surroundings. Her excitement grew and she was no longer weary of being immersed. In fact, by the time the baptisms took place, she was very enthusiastic. And when she came up out of the water, she had a big smile on her face.
It was a memorable day for her. She wants to take her baptism shirt and the pictures we took and place them in a frame so she will always remember the day she made her public statement about the faith that is in her heart. I think this was a memorable day for all of us.
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