Avaleigh,
There have always been moments….all of your life….you have always shown a connection to and an awareness of God. There were so many signs…
A few months after Paw died…on a beautiful April day…I was sad. You didn’t know because I never really showed anyone how sad I was. We were going down the road and you said to me, “Dad, you do know Paw is happy, don’t you?” You weren’t questioning….you were telling me. “I feel it,” you said.
You had a presence and a happiness about you that wasn’t something your Mom and I gave to you…it was obvious to me and a couple of pastors…you already had God. The way you loved church, the way you loved people…it was just clear.
Just over a year ago, you started talking to me about baptism. While you didn’t know exactly how to say it, you were very clear and persistent. You would say, “I love God and I want to be with him.” In those early days, I really didn’t know how to handle that. I talked to our pastor at the time, Dale Noe, and he encouraged me not to push you away from God. The Bible clearly says in Matthew 19:14…But Jesus said,” Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”
We started down that road and then the world changed. COVID was coming and we could all see it. A couple of weeks before everything shut down, I kept yall away from places we didn’t have to go. We would go to school and that was it.
However, nothing could quench your desire. Around October of last year, you told me you wanted to follow Jesus, but didn’t know what that meant. I tried to explain it to Lindley and you at the same time. When I told you the most important thing you could do was to accept Jesus as your Lord and be saved, you both told me you wanted to do that. We prayed together and it was done. What we have to understand is that it is more that it is more than praying a prayer…there has to be a thirst for God and a change in us.
There was. Almost immediately, yofu both started asking to go back to church. In December, you told me it was time to be baptized.
As you grow, I think you will wonder if you salvation is on the right side of your baptism. Pastor Zac and I both believe it was legit. That is a question that you will answer for yourself.
You have made a commitment to God and he made a commitment to you. Live up to your end of it.
Dad of Girls 