Immersion: After

Well, I finally did it.



Yes, there I stand drenched in the waters that made me An Official Baptist.

Looking back, I really can't offer a good reason as to why I waited so long. It wasn't difficult. It went quickly. I guess God has His reasons for working things out in His own time.

I was somewhat nervous as I drove to the church. I think the biggest part of it was that I was afraid we were going to be late. I loathe being late. I am always on time. At any rate, we made it and got changed and waited for the service to begin. Mr. Jonathan prayed with us and asked who wanted to go first. I asked Poodle and she said that I should go first. That was fine with me. When the time came, I was surprised at how warm the water was. I was expecting it to be somewhat warm, but this felt more like a nice, relaxing bath. I almost didn't want to get out. It would probably have been frowned upon for me to holler from the baptistry, "Hey! Y'all just carry on with your singing and preaching. Imma hang out up here and just chillax during the service! Cool? No? Well, alright, if you insist." At any rate, the time came. Then, after all those years of resistance and hardheaded-ness, I felt the same sort of emotions as he began to push me under as those I had when I began walking down the aisle on my wedding day; the same emotions as I felt when I first looked at my newly-born children. I felt my eyes get all tingly and *bloop*, I went under. I think I remember having a colossal grin on my face after I came back up.

Mr. Jonathan invited me to stay in the water while it was Poodle's turn. I was touched to be able to stay there and share in the experience in such close proximity. A front row seat, if you will. He raised his hand and spoke the special words and *bloop*, under she went. I got tickled while she was under because her little feet and legs swung out from under her and floated up. It was cute and I guess it was one of those "location situations". You know, you had to be there to fully appreciate it. She came back up and people applauded. We got out, got put back together and went back out into the service.

Later, I was invited to come down at the end of the service to be greeted and presented with my new bible. The associate pastor said, "We have just one more thing to do before accepting you as a member." I thought to myself, "Great. What now?! What else could I possibly need to do?!" He said, "Mr. Jonathan's a rookie up there and he didn't ask everyone if they rejoice in your coming. If y'all rejoice in her coming through believer's baptism, would you give a round of applause?" *applause* What a relief. I'm now a member of the club.

Speaking of clubs...

After we left church, we decided to go out to eat. Nanny and Paw Paw were with us and asked if I'd like to go ahead and have my birthday lunch while they were here with us. Sure, why not? Now's as good a time as any. So, we loaded up and went for lunch at Longhorn. We got there and ordered our drinks. Now, every once in a while, Cal will have one beer with a meal. He decided he wanted one with his meal on this day. On a Sunday. In the Deep South. (You see, where he comes from, it's no big deal to drink or even purchase hard liquor or beer on Sundays.) So, he orders his beer and a little bit later a man shows up with a half sheet of paper and a little card that's the size of a business card. "What's this?" he asks. "Well, Shelby county doesn't allow drinking on Sunday unless you're a member of a private club." Cal puts pen to paper and begins filling out the half sheet of paper that looks like it's been photo-copied sixteen times. He's now #0861 and a card-carrying member of the "Longhorn Club Card" club. Whatever that means. ; )

I hope the next time God needs/wants me to do something, I'm not as stubborn as I have been over the past several years. Generally, He doesn't let up until you comply. I'm just glad I was able to finally complete this task with a happy heart.