In my life I haven't experienced a lot of crystal clear answers when I have prayed about something. More often than not, I feel quiet whispers of 'this is probably the way to go' but rarely do I hear "GO."
This past summer, we attended a baptism celebration at our church. Afterward, Bree had all kinds of questions about what it was, why we do it, and what it all means. More importantly, she wanted to know if she could do it. We answered her questions as they came, but we didn't bring it up again when it seemed to stop coming up. We wanted to wait until she was older, though we didn't tell her that at the time.
A couple months ago, she started asking again. We knew we had to take her seriously because we felt it could hurt her to think her faith didn't matter because she's young. So we decided to have her meet with a staff member at church, who we love and trust. She sat down with her and talked about baptism and the Gospel and Jesus.
Afterward, we spoke with the woman, and she confirmed what we were thinking. Bree obviously loves Jesus but doesn't quite have the vocabulary to really explain a lot of the "big questions" so she agreed (with Brent and I) that waiting is never a bad idea, but that it was our decision and the church would support us, either way. We had been thinking the same thing. She's really young. Let's wait. Give her time. ETC.
We told Bree our decision, and she was really upset. We told her to pray about it, and if she wanted us to reconsider, we could sit down with her again and talk to her about it. She wanted us to reconsider.
For weeks I prayed about it daily. I didn't want to keep her from a beautiful decision, but I still felt like she was too young to make such a big decision. I wrestled with it day in and day out.
On April 8, I was sitting in church during worship asking God to give me an answer. There was a baptism Sunday coming up, and I needed to hear from Him - LIKE NOW, GOD.
I kid you not: our pastor walked out onto the stage and had us open to Mark 10:13-16, and he began to read.
"People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them."
Okay, God, I'm listening... You have my attention.
But then he moved on to Mark 17-31, and I am serious -- I have NO IDEA how that verse was related AT ALL to the rest of the sermon. It felt like God was speaking only to me. Like He had His hands on my face, looking me straight in the eyes, saying, "LET HER COME."
I haven't felt such a clear answer in a long time.
So Brent and I sat down with Bree after church and talked with her again. We asked her why she wanted to get baptized. We asked her to share the Gospel with us, and tell us about Jesus. Then I told her about how I had been praying and about how I felt God speaking to me at church through that story. And we told her it was her decision. And she just lit up. I mean, pure joy.
We know she loves Jesus. There isn't a doubt in our minds about that. She has since she was three. She tells everyone about Him. And she may not understand everything about her faith or about Jesus or about her relationship with Him, but who does? Whether you are seven or fifty-seven, do we ever really understand everything about Jesus and His love for us?
But she will learn, and we will teach her. And her growth won't make her decision any less real because she was young. If anything, I hope it shows her that you don't have to be a grown-up to get it. It's not an adult-only club. Jesus made that very clear: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them."
Since making the decision, she has already started changing lives. I have had multiple people tell me that she shared her decision with them and now they are having their own discussions in their families about baptism.
She was baptized on April 22nd, and I cried throughout the whole service. I didn't think it would be that emotional, but it was. I was just so overjoyed. I know God has something truly special planned for her life. I look at her, and I feel like I see a tiny-Abby-Heskett (And if you know who Abby Heskett is, you know that's a major compliment!), and I can't wait to see how God uses her life.
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