I make it no mystery on this blog and with everyone I interact with that parenting is my greatest challenge. Add homeschooling. Add the fact that we have little to no breaks because we have one family member in the same state as us. Add mine and Ralph's bends towards independence and not relying on others because, to be quite blunt, most people are disappointing or can't be trusted. It's simply easier for us not to expect help or ask for help, but I digress. That's for another writing...or a book once God has finished working on this with us. ;)
It is also not a mystery (or at least I sure hope it isn't!) that one of the priorities in my life is investing in my children's souls. Ralph and I spend a considerable amount of time teaching them about Jesus, the word of God, prayer, the foundational truths of our faith, how to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit, and live out the purposes God has for us on earth. Without these, they will be swept away in the raging current of our culture.
Taking them to church a couple times a week or even serving together isn't enough. Praying before dinner or getting in the word as a family only on Christmas and Easter isn't gonna do it either. Ask me how I know. Or wait until my book is published and read how confused I was in my teens, trying to understand where God fit in the mix.
No, I am not going to do any of those things in hopes that my kids will survive in this twisted and confusing world. It takes work, commitment, determination, perseverance, and full reliance on the almighty God to do what Ralph and I are doing. It takes verses on our mantle that say, "Let us now grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9)." It takes the memorization of verses like Isaiah 40:8 that say, "But those who WAIT for Yahweh shall RENEW their strength, they shall go up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow WEARY, they shall walk and not be faint."
This kind of investment, when the enemy wants nothing more than to destroy our marriage and family, is no small feat. That's why when our eleven year old decides to get baptized, I cry over the faithfulness of God.
This wasn't a flippant decision of Liam's. He has been talking about this with Ralph and I for at least a year. The building that we have agreed we can refer to as, "church" and not it's formal name, which is "Discovery Church," because it has become home to us, does this great thing every time someone chooses to get baptized. They bring all of the kids, from four years old and up to see it.
After a couple of times of seeing this happened, Liam started asking us about it. I could tell he was feeling the conviction, but I didn't want to pressure him. "Does it have to be a pastor? Can't you do it? You're the most spiritual person I know. Can't we just do it in the bathtub? It doesn't matter where it happens, right? Does it have to be at church in front of all of those people? The Ethiopian was baptized without anyone else around but Philip (Acts 8:26-40). Why can't I?"
All really good questions for which we didn't have clear answers. We would even bring it up to other friends of ours and get their take on it.
Time went on and Liam witnessed more baptisms at church. More questions. He felt the conviction but he wasn't quite ready yet. Again, we were not going to pressure him. This is Liam's relationship with Jesus, not ours. We always reiterate that to him and his brothers.
Liam asked Jesus into his heart when he was four and a half years old one night before bed. Young? Yes. But when his mom has been talking to him about Jesus since he could talk at less than two years old, is it really too young?
(The texts I sent to Ralph when he was at work about Liam asking Jesus into his heart on May 31, 2017)
The gospel is simple enough for children to understand. No one taught them how to steal a cookie from the cookie jar and then lie about it. It's us adults that make the gospel more complicated than it is, arguing over how passages should be interpreted. We were born broken, we need to be fixed, but can't do it ourselves. Jesus came to earth to rectify our situation, was crucified, raised back to life three days later, returned back to the heavenly realms, put us in charge of spreading this truth, and is coming back. There's a whole lot of amazing stuff in between all of that, but I am trying to respect my readers time here...
My point is that Liam understood that simple gospel truth and embraced it. From that moment on, Ralph and I have been teaching him how to live out his faith. Baptism is part of that. It's more of the public part of it.
This past June while planning for our trip to Western New York, I was texting a friend of mine from there named Candace who was pivotal in my walk with the Lord. She shared that they would be hosting a baptism night at their house and asked if any of our kids had been baptized yet. I shared what had been going on with Liam and she said to mention it to him to see if he would be interested in getting baptized at their house instead.
The man that would be doing them was the same man who baptized Ralph twenty years ago. When I thought about that, I kept tearing up. How memorable would that be if Wes Aarum, who baptized Ralph twenty years ago would be able to baptize Liam even though we live 1200 miles away now? I kept quiet about it. I asked friends for prayer.
One afternoon, I simply said to Liam, "The Thompsons are hosting a baptism night at their house while we will be in town." Immediately he said, "OK. I'll do it." Ralph and I then proceeded to reiterate the significance of the choice he was making. We asked him why he felt he was ready to do it now. He said, "because the Holy Spirit keeps bugging me about it and saying, 'get baptized, get baptized, get baptized.' When He does that you need to listen to Him." Fair enough.
This baptism brought all of our family in Western New York together to witness such a monumental occasion in Liam's relationship with Jesus. It brought family members that didn't know Jesus, but are now asking questions. Through this Liam is getting to see how God can use him and how our choices have an eternal impact on ourselves and others.
Ralph was able to be a part of the baptism. It was a beautiful, memorable moment that I didn't expect to happen while we were in Buffalo surrounded by our family and friends.
It was an encouragement to stay the course on our parenting journey. To not give up when we are often tempted to. It was evident fruit from our many years of labor.
After the baptism, Liam shared how relieved he was. Tell me about it, kid. If only at his age I understood how to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and then obey Him. I would have had a lot less heartache and pain. We are so proud of him for hearing and then obeying.
Raising warriors for Christ is not easy. It's the hardest thing we've ever done. When I say that we need prayer, I mean it. Our time is short and the distractions are real.
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For those that want to see Liam's baptism on video, you can watch that below. Liam's is at minute 5:25.
I also put together a slideshow of all of the baptisms from that evening. I did not actually get photos of everyone with my good camera because I was also dealing with our five and eight year olds who wanted to take photos, videos, and talk. I screen shotted the moments missed from my Go Pro that was also running. That can be watched below:
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