The significance of Babygirl’s water baptism at our church is one of the proudest MOMents I will forever cherish.  Hubby and I watched in teary awe our Babygirl make a public declaration of a new life in Christ and we couldn’t be more proud.

Training our girls in building their spiritual foundation not only determines where they will spend eternity but how they live their lives.  One such spiritual foundation is water baptism.  Baptism means to be immersed or submerged.  Jesus tells us in the Bible to be water baptized and sets the example by being water baptized Himself, even though He did not need to.

As Christians, water baptism is significant because it identifies us with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  We publicly follow His example in obedience and faith to die to our sins and be raised up to a new life in Him.  There is no magic that takes place in the water but in that moment God honors our faith of new life in Jesus and performs the work needed to resist anything that hold us back.

The Bible encourages Christian parents to train our children up in the way that they should go and the only way Hubby and I know is His way.  Before making the decision to go His way, I have tried all kinds of religion.  I was brought up Catholic with a fascination for the occult.  Once I moved to the U.S, I embraced humanism with a mixture of secularism in the name of me, myself and I.

Then I hit rock bottom and I started searching for the meaning of life.  I was drawn to Eastern religions and started studying buddhism.  I even attended a retreat where I got to meet the Dalai Lama.  It was a wonderful experience that made me realize that I needed more.

My search led me to read a book by T.D. Jakes called “The Lady, Her Lover and Her Lord”.  That book opened my eyes to revisit the God that my mom talked to me about.  I went and purchased my very first Bible March 25, 2000.  I remember the day because it was a turning point for me.  I still have that Bible as a reminder of where I was and where I am today.

It seems that in reading the Bible, I was just accumulating head knowledge. I was so frustrated but decided to heed my mom’s advice in going to the Source and so I ask God for help.  His answer came in a wonderful lady who walked in the lunch room one day at the company I was working at the time.  I was reading “The Lady, Her Lover and Her Lord” during my lunch hour and we started having a conversation about life and God. She realized my thirst for God and suggested that I take a class in her church called “Understanding God.”

I was so excited that I went to visit her church on Sunday, January 13, 2002. I was so overwhelmed with all kind of emotions listening to the songs and the teaching that when the pastor made the altar call for anyone to give their life to Christ, I knew in my heart that the long search for meaning was over.

That day I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  I am so glad about my decision because I realized He was the missing link in all my search.  A water baptism class and ceremony was offered that same Sunday and I showed up not wanting to miss on anything God had for me. The Tuesday after that, I started the class “Understanding God” and my life has never been the same.

Prior to committing my life to Christ, reading the Bible was all head knowledge. Head knowledge was just plain knowledge and not knowing how to apply that knowledge.  I now realize that’s what wisdom is, application to that knowledge, and that wisdom comes from God.

After I committed my life to Jesus and was water baptized, all I can say is that a spiritual surgery took place in my heart.  From that moment on when I read the Bible or listen to teachings, my heart receives the information in such a way that the words became alive and personal to me.

The more information I received, the more understanding I got.  The more I applied the knowledge to my everyday life, the more meaning it gave to my life. It dawned on me that at this point it was not just head knowledge anymore but I was experiencing what I know now to be heart knowledge.  My understanding about the word of God deepened to a level where I wanted to know Him more.  I have in no way mastered knowing Him and that’s the beauty of my relationship with Him, my relationship extends beyond this life and beyond.

I thank God for this transformation fifteen years ago because when my baby girl stepped in the water that Sunday to be baptized, all I could think about were the lyrics of the song “In Christ Alone” by Brian Littrell.  The lyrics reminded me in humility and thanksgiving that in this MOMent and every small victory in this mom life journey, that my source of strength and my source of hope Is in Christ alone.

In everything I do as a WELLthy mom, only in Christ alone do I glory for I recognize that only by His grace I am redeemed and called to be mom to my girls.  Now I seek no greater honor than to train them to know Him more in order to be more and do more.  This is my why and my drive.

I thank God to have experienced this life-changing MOMent with two of my girls so far and it was worth all my happy tears that day because this mama was a total teary mess.  Babygirl was wearing a tee-shirt that read “I have decided” and the smile on her face after the ceremony let me know that she would forever cherish the significance of her water baptism as well.