A First Time for Everything

This afternoon I was provided with a unique opportunity. I had the pleasure of witnessing a baptism. Just the three of us. Although that wasn't the unique part. The unique aspect involved who the person was...we'll call him Johnny. I'm not certain how old Johnny is but if I had to guess I might say somewhere in his sixties. He is a resident at a local nursing home. This morning we received a call from someone who works with Johnny on a regular basis who informed us that after several conversations between the two of them over a period of time, Johnny had made up his mind to be baptized. So this afternoon the two of them made their way up here to the church and together we ushered Johnny into new life with Christ.

It was a sweet moment really. See, Johnny has some limitations. He is mostly confined to a wheelchair because of problems with his legs. We had to struggle to help him up the stairs to access the baptistry. His friend Will playfully joked that it could be his therapy for the day! We got him to the top only to attempt the descent down into the waters. We made it halfway down the stairs into the baptistry when Johnny turned them into a water slide and slipped the rest of the way in. It was hard for him to manipulate his body in the ways needed to fulfill his heart's desire. But by the time he made it in you could see the excitement in his face. He went under an older, broken, physically limited man but came up a new creation with the joy of the LORD as his new strength.

Beautiful. Sacred. Intimate. And I was allowed the privilege to participate in the moment. When I first heard about it earlier in the day I was a little taken aback. I had never been asked to witness a baptism under these circumstances. But by the time we finished sharing the God-moment together...it was worth feeling uncomfortable and awkward...because here was a man who despite his age, despite his limitations, despite his lot in life...understood the simplicity of dying to self in order to be raised to life!

Special. Powerful. Humbling.

God be praised for another first!