Annie's Baptism

What a wonderful day Sunday was!  Our sweet Annie who was saved a year and a half ago decided that this Sunday it was time for her to follow her Lord in obedience.  How awesome it has been to see how God has been dealing with her and prompting her little heart over the last few weeks.  We have spent precious time in prayer with her asking God for peace and strength to overcome her fear of being underwater.  Last Sunday's sermon really spoke to her as our pastor preached on obedience and gave an invitation at the end for anyone who would like to be baptized to come forward and do so on the spot.  Our church baptized 230 people that day.  Some new believers and some that had been saved previously but had yet to be baptized.  Annie shuffled in the pew, looked down much of the time and fidgeted quite a bit.  I could tell that she was very affected.  I asked her if she would like to go down front (almost scared she would say yes because Mark was working nursery and would have missed the entire event) and she said an emphatic "No" so I backed off, reassuring her that it was fully her decision that no one would try to make for her.  A few minutes passed and she tugged on my sweater so I bent down and she said, "Mom, I think I want to do it next Sunday."  This was a huge step for her.  She has never remotely committed to a day and always reminds us that it is her decision to make. Over the last week she has been all over the spectrum with her decision so we have prayed with her and for her as she dealt with this big fear and the desire for obedience in spite of it.  I think God used our pastor again yesterday morning when he told the story about a Sunday school teacher teaching his first lesson yesterday.  He had told Pastor that he was scared and Pastor said, "Good!  Now you will see how God can use you in spite of how you feel about your ability."  (I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember the exact words.)  So she decided to go to the baptism class on Sunday night.  She was pretty settled as we went in that she would do it then midway through the class I could tell the fear had set in again but at the end of class she looked at me and said, "Mommy, my answer is YES!  I'm going to do it tonight!"  So up we went to get her changed into her robe.  I am so proud of her and the journey that God has taken her on to bring about obedience in her life.  What a great lesson to learn in the process that we can rely on Him even when fear grips us and He will bring us through.  And I will tell you that she showed no sign of fear once we were up there.  She had a precious smile on her face the entire time and wasn't the least bit worried when I left her to go to the other side to take pictures.  I was much more nervous than she was, I think.  Her friend Katherine was baptized right before her and I've never seen two little girls seemingly so reverent and aware of the gravity of what they were doing.  I really believe that she was thinking of her Savior while she was up there instead of  her fear of water, the size of the pool, not knowing the ministers that were helping her, or the size of the crowd watching her.  What a wonderful blessing of a day.  I pray that she continues to trust Him with every little detail of her life and lean on His strength each day.