Baptism By The Bay

I didn’t fully understand the term “cloud of witnesses” until three weeks ago. I found myself wading in the Chesapeake Bay in front of a crowd of a few hundred explaining myself. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to -- and that is what made all the difference.

I truly believe this was a divine moment. I believe God had brought together a series of events, all colliding and crashing to intersect at that one moment when I could rejoice with my church family: I love Jesus. Could God’s orchestrations be any more beautiful? I’m sure I have only the faintest idea.

If you’ve known me for most of my life, you know that I grew up Catholic. So to respond to your first statement (“But you’ve already been baptized!”), I will say this: I have been baptized, First-Communion-ed and Confirmed. But what is most important is the journey, not the checklist. Getting re-baptized was a re-affirmation of my devotion – of my recognition of how broken I am. That is all.

But what is a spiritual journey? I think it means wading through the questions, and realizing there are still more questions – more than can possibly be answered. For me, choosing to (re)baptized meant talking the talking – since I was already walking the walk! That said, being baptized does not make me any holier than the next person.

My decision to be baptized was a long-awaited decision. God had been nudging me to make this public declaration ever since I came to Christ in 2006. But my college years made me a church vagabond – splitting time between campus ministries or bible studies, hopping in and among the Greek life community and life as a Resident Assistant.

But after getting plugged into National Community Church last fall, I couldn’t have been more blessed to know that I would soon return to the capital (no, not the Capitol) just 4 months later.

So Baptism By the Bay was my opportunity to profess to my friends, to myself and to God … the cloud of witnesses – my friends, mentors and church family - looked on as I waded through the water. The water had reached past my waist when Pastor Mark held my shoulder (and I plugged my nose) and dunked me. The awesome media team captured every moment (thanks, guys!).

How great is love the father has lavished upon us that we should be called the sons and the daughters of God?

I mean, really?

By the way, Stephen Elliot is an excellent photographer and deserves oodles of credit for documenting more than 25 baptisms that day!

Finding Grace at the Toilet Bowl

This morning I found grace at the toilet bowl.

And no, I’m not talking about getting saved from a New Year’s Eve hangover.

My first task of 2010: to clean my bathroom at home. Glamorous, right?

I must have been empowered by Mom’s words: “Clean the bathroom like it will never be cleaned again” because I cleaned that bathroom with more gusto than usually take with housecleaning duties. I lathered up the sponge, scrubbing the shower stall tiles and the toilet bowl -- picture me as Cinderella, mopping the tiled floor (minus the delicate bubbles).

While I’d been away in D.C., Mom and Dad renovated the bathroom my sister and I share. They tore down the colorful wallpaper and painted it a solid yellow. The new shower curtain displayed a conservative flower pattern.

As I scrubbed away, the surfaces seemed “whiter” than before – maybe it was the new lighting fixtures. But as I reflected (literally and figuratively) on the brightness of the toilet bowl, words from an old hymn came to mind:

Sin had left a crimson stain,


He washed it white as snow.

- “Jesus Paid It All” (1865)

We’ve had plenty of of "white snow" in Chicago. There is something beautiful about the crispness of new snow – it’s blinding, just like that toilet seat.

Of course, God's promise of grace and redemption doesn’t mean we’ll be picture-perfect Christians, but the image of fresh snow helps remind us God’s ability to make us clean again. We are, by nature unclean – and sin hangs on us like dirty rags. (Isaiah 64:6) But God has called us out of our old clothes – all that old sin, old habits. How about we let that die with 2009?

During my New Year’s celebration, two friends informed me they were starting a diet that would cleanse their bodies (“de-tox” they called it). Every day for seven days, they plan to consume 6 – 12 glasses of this mixture: cayenne pepper, lemon juice, maple syrup and water. My friends said it wasn’t so much for weight loss, as it was to “reboot” and to “get rid of all the bad.” I'd love to cleanse my body like that, if I could handle drinking a recipe like that!

How will we view God’s grace this year? The shiny toilet bowl – as strange as it sounds – reminded me that God does “do-overs’ – whenever I mess up. That blaring white porcelain under the shiny new light fixture – it almost blinded me.

But it reminded that nothing is too impossible for God to handle. He desires for us to live pure and blameless – for we are His treasures. For as many times as we trip up, He's there to catch us and let us start over.