My Daughther's Baptism and other Special Moments (Part One)

February 22 will be a day I will not soon forget. Yesterday at Grace Church we had baptisms and there were many special moments that will live with me forever.

I knew the day was going to be special about two weeks ago when our daughter (Emma - 9 years old) came to me and stated that she wanted to be baptized. My wife and I have talked about baptism with our kids over the years, but determined that we would never push them to do it as we wanted them to take that step of obedience when they were ready. Needless to say, I was both thrilled and scared at the same time when Emma said she was ready!

I was thrilled because there is nothing more I want as a parent than to see both my children grow up to love the Lord and spend a lifetime following after Him. I know there are no guarantees in life, so to see her taking this step of discipleship and obedience was a thrilling experience for me. Emma is my only daughter, so she has always be my little princess and holds a special place in this daddy's heart. I love baptism Sunday's in general, but this one would be special because I would be baptizing my little girl.

I was also thrilled for my wife. Over the years she has stood faithfully next to this pastor and has poured her life into our children on many long nights and weekends while I have been busy leading churches and meetings late into the evening. She has faithfully been a stable rock for our kids and has faithfully taught them the ways of Christ. It was Susan the shared the good news of Christ with Emma on the day she received Christ as her personal Savior. Yesterday meant a lot to Susan which meant a lot to me.

I was also scared to death. I know how this little girl melts my heart and I was scared that I wouldn't even be able to get the words out when she stepped into the baptismal pool. I had already resolved myself to the fact that I would cry, but would I be able to contain myself enough to get done what needed to be done. Thankfully I did and I'm thankful that as I looked out into the church family there were many other tears flowing as well. I wasn't the only sap in the room!

I also had a few moments of fear hit me as I began to think about how quickly life was passing by. My children are now 9 and 12 and I came to realize that their time under my roof was moving right along and that I needed to be firmly committed to teaching them the ways of Christ and praying for them intensely. I also had a huge moment of fear when I realized that someday that same little girl would want to get married. I'm not sure who the jerk (I mean young man) will be, but he better love the Lord and my little girl with all his heart if he has any hope of making it through the wedding day.

All in all, it was a great day because I got to baptize my daughter. But there were also a number of other things that happened that I'll share in part two of my blog. I'm also hoping to have pictures up real soon as well!