ASK #022 - Baptism

 written:  May 1, 2022

So I grew up in the Lutheran church.   As Lutherans they believe in infant baptism and my parents had me baptized as an infant.  I thank them for that.

As I have been growing and maturing in my faith and studying God's Word, I have discovered more of God's truth and His commandments.  I have recommitted my life to Christ and have been walking in the spirit ever since then.

The Lord has brought me through some very rough and trying times. It's only through the strength of the Lord that I've made it through these trials and continue to do so. 

I have been abundantly blessed. 

 God has placed people in my life and on my path that I would never have expected. And I know there are so many people behind the scenes that I probably don't even know about that have been praying for me.

Recently, it's come to my mind that I should outwardly profess that faith and show my church family and my Lord my commitment to Him.  

So I decided to do just that and felt led to be baptized.

I was baptized Sunday, May 1st, 2022, at Starpoint church at the 11 o'clock service. 

As I stated above, I grew up in the church. My family attended service regularly on Sunday mornings and I was a part of Sunday school and confirmation classes within the Lutheran church.  In the Lutheran church we are taught that there is one baptism needed.  All this time I never thought about baptism as I knew I was baptized  as an infant and thought "I was good."

As I grew older, I became more involved in the church. As a teen and adult, I taught Sunday school, vacation Bible school and eventually became the superintendent of Sunday school. I was always very involved with my local church and went on to study at a Lutheran college downstate.  I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.

But at some point it became more of a ritual practice and routine. 

It wasn't until I was hit with some real rough patches in my life that I really and truly understood what it meant to rely on the Lord.  At this time He was the only real constant in my life.  

It was during this time when my marriage was dissolving right before my eyes...it had been happening for a while, but it was then that I finally saw the truth.

The realization that I was now a single mom of five children.

I had to get out into the workforce after being a stay at home mom for most of my 18 years of married life...and basically starting over again in my late thirties/early forties.  

This was no easy task.

And from time to time I was led astray but I remained faithful to my Lord and Savior as I continued to grow in my faith. 

God was there all along, putting people onto my path and closing doors (and even locking some) that needed it.

It was during this time that God really was able to work in my heart because I had little of anything else. All I had was to fall on Him for my strength. 

My life started to turn around, I was able to solidify work and found an affordable place to live. I am truly blessed to be able to live in the beautiful countryside with few neighbors.   Some would say I had it all, but that was just the beginning.  

As I continued walking with the Lord, He led me to a church over an hour from my house, taking me out of my comfort zone, and even pushing me to go.  The Lord introduced me to a wonderful class that changed my life forever.  It was in this class where I was introduced to topics and ideas about becoming Free in Christ and how to leave all the "baggage" of my past behind and truly devote my life to the Lord.

Little did I know the friendships I would make here would also change my life forever.  It was here that I met a faithful,  God-fearing man of whom I married this past January 1st, 2022.

My life hasn't been easy by any means and I still have some hills to climb.  However, I have discovered that by trusting in the Lord,  following His will and His way for my life I can do this.   I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:14)  

Another thing I learned on this journey is this simple phrase "Ask, Seek, Knock" (Matthew 7:7).  God knows our heart, but He wants a relationship  with us.  He wants us to grow our faith in Him to the point where we can ASK and know God will always provide.  He doesn't always do it the way "we" think it should be done, but our requests never return void.  It is then that we need to SEEK out His will for our life and finally continue to KNOCK. 

I am excited about this next step in my faith walk as I continue to walk with the Lord.  

Praise God from whom all blessings flow…..