December 13th 2013 – I never thought this day would be one to remember but it has become something so much more beautiful then I could ever imagine.
This morning my team had Jesus time. Today’s Jesus time consisted of each of us taking turns sitting in a chair and everyone else praying for them. When it was my turn Christa told me that God was calling me to a deeper, more genuine relationship with Him. Little did I realize what this would spark later.
In the early afternoon I was having some Jesus time and was reading in Acts( 8:26-40) where Philip meet the Ethiopian eunuch. I had been discussing for a while the idea of baptism on the race. One of my squad mates had told me that it didn’t matter where it happened, or who was there, all that matters is my heart in doing it and the obedience it represents. So today while reading that verse I was praying asking God “When are you calling me to do this?” his response was so simple. “Whenever you’re ready”. He was waiting for me, for me to step up and do what He calls us to do. I wasn’t sure when or how it would work because we aren’t really close to water – but God made it possible. I knew that Ariane would be part of it, but I didn’t understand how.
During our afternoon we went out to pray for an elderly lady (her name is Virginia) in our community. While we were talking to Virginia about how much God loves her. Ari got the word “water” – she thought it meant baptism and washing feet. She stepped out in faith and washed the woman’s feet but was still confused about why baptism had come to mind.
Once we had left I told her I was thinking about being baptized, she told me that baptism had also come to her mind. It was in that moment that I knew. I knew she would be the one that would baptize me. The look on her face when I told her she was going to do it was pure excitement, coupled with some shock.
When we got back to our home we went on a search of baptisms in the bible. She read and I readied the bucket. We don’t have a bathtub, or a bucket large enough for a person to sit in but we had the small buckets we used to flush our toilets. So we took our small bucket of water, walked to the back of the yard, up some random stairs and made it happen. She spoke about the beauty of what I was doing, and asked me why I wanted to do this.
I wanted to do this because its what God calls us to do. He asks us to be baptized as a sign of our commitment to Him. I’d been baptized before as a child but hadn’t fully understood the concept and had later walked away from the Lord. Since recommitting my life to Him I hadn’t been rebaptized but I knew it was something I needed to do. I knew it was a step I needed to take in obedience, and I know that God is calling me to a deeper relationship with Him.
And so Ari baptized me. It was a moment that I will never forget because it was perfect. It didn’t matter that Ari and I were alone in the jungle on some steps, it didn’t matter that it was water from a bucket, it didn’t matter that we used the same bucket we use to flush our toilets, all that matters is the heart behind what happened. All that matters is that Jesus is glorified through my obedience. All that matters is that I know that I know He is enough and that He is all I need and all I want.
