Freedom

“My soul exalts the Lord,

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

“For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;

For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.

“For the Mighty One has done great things for me;

And holy is His name."

Luke 1:46-49

"Mary's Song"

I was immersed as a preteen, long before I understood the gravity of grace, salvation, and baptism.  Christ was a part of the culture I was living in, but He was not a part of my heart.  I said the Sinner's Prayer out of fear, not out of love, trust, or reverence.  Out of fear.  I did not bear the fruit of one who walks with the Lord.  Mainly, because I was not walking with the Lord and did little to seek Him, unless it served me to do so.  My brain and my abilities were my own personal gods and I didn't see a need for following anything that might go against that.  My faith was not real; it was self-serving.  I was living in bondage.  No peace, no true joy.  Just bondage.

It wasn't until eleven years ago that I truly accepted Jesus as my Savior.  I finally "got it" that I could not save myself and that my ways were not the right ways.  My strength was not sufficient and I was drowning in a sea of superficial nothingness. I finally understood that serving Christ was not about a bunch of rules, but about loving others, as Christ loves us.  It was about a changed heart, not about having it all together on the outside or simply being good. I finally began to see that I was not the center of the world and that God had a plan and purpose for me being here and it was not to serve me.  If I wanted to be a part of His plan and fulfill the destiny that He had for me, then I could join Him.  Otherwise, His plans would still be fulfilled, I would just miss the huge blessings He had for me in it. 

So, out of a heart that truly wants to serve the Lord and be obedient to Him, I was baptised on June 18th.  Not out of fear, this time. Out of love and trust and adoration for an awesome Savior who loves me.  And died for me.  And gave me freedom.  True freedom.   The only thing that can bring about authentic peace and joy.

Since I had felt the prompting for a number of years to be baptised, I knew that once I finally decided to be obedient to that prompting, I had to act fast.  So that left no time for family to get down here.  It was okay, though.  I knew they were loving and supporting me from Kentucky. I also wanted it to be a small gathering.  Not that I didn't want the whole wide world to rejoice with me, I just wanted to make sure that my focus was not detered. It was very intimate, and only included our dear friends and mentors, the McLaughlins, and our small group leaders and wonderful friends, the Bowdens. 

I wanted Tim to baptise me alongside Eric.  I couldn't think of two better men to do it.  I was especially thankful to have Eric, my greatest earthly love, do the honors. What a blessing and a deeper bond for us to share.  He was glowing just as much as I was and that meant so much to me.

Once we were in the water (which was surprisingly very comfortable), Eric prayed over me, and then Tim did a perfect job of describing the significance of baptism.  Caleb even spoke beautiful words over me right before I was immersed.  What a precious memory that is.  Terri, Scott, and Shar also shared words of encouragement and blessing.  Then Eric took hold of me and dunked me.  The only down side was that neither of us thought to cover my nose, so I got a rush of the Harpeth up my schnozz as I went under. Oh well.  It did not detract from the event's meaning, in the least.

It was an awesome day at the Harpeth River!

And the rain held off just long enough.

It was an exciting time filled with love, joy, and the Spirit of the Lord.

Praises! Praises! Praises!

Caleb accidentally erased the picture of our family with the Bowdens on our camera, so he thought it was only appropriate that he replace it.   I think this might have been better than the original.