I have a confession.
I am a procrastinator. If I can
wait until the last minute to do something, I will. Sometimes I procrastinate
out of dread (like making that dentist appointment) or sometimes I feel like I
have so much time to accomplish something, why do it now? Yes, I was the
student feverishly writing her English term paper the weekend before the Monday
it was due. (Do high school students
still even write term papers?)
I have another confession. I am shy. I am uncomfortable
speaking in front of large groups of people.
I was a sweaty, stumbling mess every time I had to get in front of the
class and be the center of attention. It
is a great challenge for me to meet new people because while I love learning
about people and talking with them (I love to ask people questions!), I have a
hard time going up to someone and beginning the conversation. I have to rely completely on God’s strength
to lead me into starting a conversation with a stranger. I have to admit though, with the Lord’s help,
I am getting better at coming out of my shell.
So, being the shy procrastinator that I am, it should come
as no surprise to you that I waited seven long years from when I accepted Jesus
as my Savior until I made the public declaration of my faith by being
baptized. When I look back on that time
in my life, I always wonder why I had waited so long. What was I afraid of? Why did I let anything
hold me back? But you know what, God had
a plan. When God works and moves in your
life, and you can see Him putting it all together, it is AMAZING! What is even
more amazing is when God is not only putting things together in your life but
when He is working on YOU, refining you!
When I got saved, 9/11 had occurred a few weeks beforehand
(you can find my testimony
here: http://westridgewomen.blogspot.com/2013/09/thankful-how-i-came-to-christ_23.html). I started going to a church but as a new
believer, I didn’t know how to connect with other believers and the whole Jesus
thing was completely new to me. I
thought about baptism but always pushed aside the idea. I couldn’t do THAT in front of a bunch of
people I didn’t know! So time passed. Years
went by and I was ignoring the whispers of my heart and God’s still, small voice
calling me to be baptized.
When my eyes were opened, I was finally in a place in my
life where I understood what being baptized meant and that the wait was
over. Now was the time! God’s timing is extra special though. He’s never early or late but always right on
time.
When I came to the decision to be baptized, my husband and I
were in the process of finding a new church home. We had visited one church for a couple months
and we felt like it was probably the
right place for us. I filled out the
little communication card multiple times stating my desire to be baptized but
no one ever called me. That revealed to us
that that church was very likely not
where God wanted us to be so we moved on.
When we found another church to attend, they didn’t have a baptismal
pool. I felt like I kept hitting wall after wall. I was praying for God to guide me through
this but I was starting to get frustrated.
Discouraged, I talked to my mother in law about all the road
blocks I was facing. She invited me to be baptized in her church. It just so happened to be the very same
church where my husband was baptized.
This same church was also not far away from Shanksville, PA where Flight
93 had gone down. Also the baptism was
scheduled for September 14, a few days after the 9/11 anniversary. Are you seeing
a theme here? I sure was! I accepted my mother in law’s invite and
began preparing for the big day.
Did I mention that I was 5 months pregnant with my second
daughter at the time? What does a
pregnant woman wear for her baptism? Plus, I was informed I needed to prepare a
little something to say to the congregation before I was baptized. Now, I was getting nervous. My shyness, anxiety, and fear were creeping
into my thoughts. Then I found out the
church broadcasted its Sunday morning service over both a local radio station
AND a local TV station!
Now really, this had to be God at work. I put off baptism and put it off, and then
put it off some more! Now it was going
to be on radio AND TV!? You know what the
funny thing is? I realized it was all God’s Hand. He wanted me to rely on Him and His Strength. I wanted to be obedient to the call He placed
on my heart to confess with my mouth to the entire world that Jesus was Lord of
my life. I needed to ignore the voices
in my head telling me I couldn’t do this because I COULD do this! I loved Jesus, now was the time!
On that September Sunday, this shy girl waddled up on to the
altar. I stood in front of the
congregation and my family with sweaty hands as I held my notes. With tears of joy in my eyes, I told my
story. I shared my testimony and my love
for the Lord. I was shaky but not out of
fear, simply overwhelmed by the love for Jesus that was flowing from my heart. Minutes later, I was dunked down into the
water and came up with the biggest smile on my face. I think there probably has never been
happier, soaking wet, pregnant lady as I was that day!
A couple of weeks later, my mother in law told me that the
church had gotten phone calls from people that had enjoyed hearing my story. My testimony that Sunday reached a lot of
people. See, I told you God had a plan!
He changed not only my life but used my story to touch others.
Is there something you are putting off doing? Do you feel
like God is calling you do to something but you are afraid to step out and do
it? Let me encourage you today. Please don’t
let fear or anything else keep you from being obedient to the Lord. God will never call you do something and then
not enable you and equip you to complete the task He has called you to. He will strengthen you and He will keep
you. You will never regret saying,
“Yes!” to God!
“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your
sins away, calling on his name.” Acts 22:16 (NIV)
