My Soul Delights

Today was a huge day.  2 of my daughters were baptized.  There is no prouder a moment for a parent than seeing your children accept Jesus Christ and participate in the outward showing of their new walk in faith. Not to mention their papa performed the baptism at church!  Keara asked the most faithful man in our family to welcome them into their "new life", and he was so emotionally touched and proud to do it. Rick was not a Christian all of his life, went through a lot of trials and setbacks on his path to real freedom.  He loves Jesus like no one I know and has a passion to bring others to know and accept Christ; specifically strangers which I find so real about him.

Keara's baptism

                                                                                 

Abigail's baptism



I've kept a special secret to myself for many years.  It's been my birthday wish, my Christmas list (of one) and my prayerful request.  Every Sunday as I'm in service I keep a chair next to me available...on the off chance my husband might need to sit there.  Long shot, I know.  He's a recognized atheist.  He admits it, tells us there is no "God" and that he will be reincarnated one day. Well, the girls asked him to come to their baptism and he said yes.  And he did! I had my entire. family. in. church. Me, our 5 kids and my non believing husband.  Now don't get me wrong, he came because his daughters asked him to.  I won't even say he supports them, but they are his little girls and he didn't let them down.  I'm sure the entire 30 minutes he wished he was anywhere but there, I could tell by his body language and breathing/mumbling.  Heck, he made a b-line out there and I wouldn't of known had I not been waiting by the door for the girls to come out of the bathroom.

 

You see, I may have been praying and hoping for him to come to church with me one day but I never said it had to be as a believer.  My prayer was just to "get him in the door" so to speak.  For him to have a small glimpse of what we worship and what his children are passionate for each week. I sat back and thought to myself, "I wonder how much energy it takes to be that defensive, that angry, that resentful and that bitter to Christianity?  How hard does one have to work to deny what he sees in his children and his wife?"  Then my dear friend made a statement to me that validated everything I was thinking; she said, "The reality is if it didn't mean anything to him he would have just stayed.  Things that truly don't matter to us don't bother us."  Could she have been any more spot on? I rest assured that the Spirit is working in Josh, I have faith in this if for no other reason than he is having to fight what the rest of his family is living.  The Bible is true, God does win in the end. 

 

He may never come back to church, he may never accept Jesus Christ.  I'm okay with that; his salvation is between him and God.  But if I die tomorrow I will leave this earth having had my entire family in church with me. Once. And it was my 7 and 8 year old daughters baptism that made that happen :)

 

Welcome to your new lives girls.  I hope you bask in Love, Joy and unwavering Faith and that your prayers for your daddy come true.

 

"The LORD is good to those whose hope is him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD...For men are not cast off by the Lord forever.  Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love."

 

(Lamentations 3:25-26, 31-32)