Day 9: Getting Baptized (Vacation Hiatus)

I need to start catching up on these ;)

Well, I suppose I could tell you about a life changing experience that took place a couple months ago. I got baptized with my Dad at Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior :) I've wanted to do it for a while but was too afraid to take that leap of faith. When I heard our pastor announce that the church was going to be having a baptism service, I felt like God was nudging me... as if He was saying, "Now is the time." My dad had mentioned prior to the announcement that he thought it would be a good idea for him and I to get baptized together, so, we did.

Now, our family has been going through a lot in the past couple of months, so my dad was in kind of a weird funk up until the baptism. He was what our pastor would call a "Joyless Christian" due to all the stress and chaos that was taking place at home. God's timing is so perfect :)

So we went to our normal 5:00pm Church service on Sunday (June 26th), and the baptism was to take place after the sermon. We headed to the baseball field at Lake Minnetonka around 6:00pm, I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest! My dad and I got our name tags and joined the group we were assigned to. 6:30pm - it's time to share our testimonies with our group. At this time, our family and friends gathered around us to hear how we grew up, how and when we came to faith in Jesus Christ, and why we decided to become baptized. I shared my testimony after my dad did, here's what I said:

"My name is Katrina, Doug's daughter (pointing to my dad). Ever since I was a little girl, I had a zeal for God, but I didn't know what it meant to have a relationship with Him. When I was about 11 years old, my mom introduced the Left Behind book series to me, and I discovered through reading those books that if Christ had returned the next day, I wouldn't have been ready. That night I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. I didn't start living out my Christian life until I was 14, which is when God gave to me my current fiancee. God used him to give me a deeper knowledge of the Bible and Jesus' love for me. All glory goes to God for where I am at today, I would be nowhere without Him. A verse that continues to speak to me is Galatians 2:21 which says, 'If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.' I thank Him every day that I don't have to earn His grace, but that I am saved through His finished work on the cross. So today, I am choosing to commit myself to follow Jesus Christ through baptism. I know it will be one of the best decisions I will ever make."

After everyone was finished sharing their testimonies, we headed to the lake. The water was FREEZING but we all agreed-- getting baptized was worth freezing our toes off. There were about 7 to 8 groups, so we did one person at a time from each group, taking turns so that all could celebrate each baptism individually. In our group, there was the cutest couple who had gotten baptized together - it was probably one of the most touching moments I'd ever seen. After they came back up from the water, the husband kissed his wife so passionately that it brought me to tears.

It felt as if my heart stopped beating when Pastor Dave motioned for Dad and I to go over by him. I heard God whisper again, "Now is the time." (In my opinion, it was more than coincidental that Pastor Dave was the one that baptized us, considering he has helped our family before in various ways.) My dad and I held each others hands, the Pastor put his hands on us, recited a little speech over us, then we went under. When we came back up, I immediately felt different - joyful, hopeful, peaceful. At that point, the temperature of the water was far from my concern.

We all waited until everyone was baptized before getting out of the water. When that time came, a family friend of ours, Lisa, approached me with a necklace - a gold necklace with a butterfly pendant that had my birthstone on it, (both of our birthdays are in November.) I could tell she was quite moved by the whole event, as she went on to tell me her grandmother gave her the necklace when she was baptized.

"Are you sure?!" I asked in amazement.

"Yes," she replied, as she proceeded to put it around my neck.

Crying, I went to greet my family, which was my mom, my little brother and sister, my older sister and her mom, and my nieces and nephew. It truly was an incredible experience, and I'm so happy that God led my dad and I to do it.