A Huge Honor

I met my friend, Stephanie, in 2001 when we were previously stationed in NJ. We lived in the same neighborhood and met through a mutual friend. I invited Stephanie to the MOPS group I attended at the time at our church. She began to come and eventually visited the church as well. Being raised Catholic, this church was a different experience for her.

There was a day that I talked to Stephanie and found her extremely distraught over some events that were occurring in her live. I remember going over to see her and asking her if I could pray with her.

Pause.

Pray.

Didn't seem like anything that significant to me at the time. Eventually I had the opportunity to share my faith more outright to Steph and my desire for her to have the same relationship with God that I've experienced.

Jump ahead to the current day. Stephanie was baptized today. She asked me to be a part of this special event in her life. She said she wouldn't be at this point without me. She talked and shared about the day that I came over and asked her if I could pray with her. She said that no one had ever asked to pray with her before.

Pause.

When she shared that I got lost in the moment and thought of all the times I've felt convicted to offer to pray with someone and I ignored that voice due to my own insecurities or feeling self conscious. Maybe there could have been more Stephanies if I had a greater faith.

Back to the baptism. Stephanie and her husband, Roger, began attending a church that was planted by the current church we attend and the one that I had invited her to way back when. This young church has been a great fit for them and I was excited to see all the friends and support they have developed from this congregation. Ironically, the pastor, Paul Zazzo, is a Taylor University alumni like myself and was a Jr. or Sr. when I was a freshman. Small world.

It was an honor to be a part of this significant event in her life. Unfortunately her parents weren't very supportive of the idea and didn't attend...so I was even more thankful that God brought us back to NJ so I could participate in her day. She said that she had been thinking about being baptized right around the time that I called to tell her I was moving back east. She took that as a sign!

Baileigh had 100 questions about baptism on the ride home. Have you ever tried explaining what "symbolic" means to a five year old. I think she finally grasped the concept when I explained to her that it is similar to how a picture can tell a story or communicate an idea...baptism shows publicly in a real picture what God has done in our life but the act itself is just a "symbol"...it doesn't really make you "clean" or change you. She seemed pleased with that explanation and said that she thinks she would like to be baptized once she can read! Not sure why reading correlates with being baptized, but that's okay. Mckenna isn't sure if or when she wants to be "appetized" as she kept calling it because she doesn't want someone pushing her under water!

The baptism took place at a pool after church and was followed by a cook-out. It was fun to have the girls there and to be able to watch.
Before the baptism there were a few baby dedications. This family just adopted 3 siblings from Liberia. Very Cool. The mother died during the childbirth of the youngest boy and the father wasn't able to raise the kids.
Stephanie sharing her testimony.

The big moment...Roger on the left is Stephanie's husband and Pastor Paul is on the right.
Tempted by my immature nature to hold her under a little longer for a good laugh...will I ever grow up!
Stephanie may hate me for posting this picture...but it isn't good of me either so I thought she couldn't get too mad at me. The water was very refreshing as you can see by the look on Steph's face!
A truly memorable and happy moment. I'm proud of you Steph and excited to see God at work in your life. Thanks for the memory and the honor.