Saturday, April 15, 2006  3:53 AM
Baptism
Ten years ago, I thought that Jesus Christ couldn't hear our prayers on Good Friday because He died on the cross for our sins on that very day.
I finally went through the waters of baptism today, finally realising God's sovereign reign over my life and how much I've come to depend on Him over the last few years.
It wasn't that I was unsure of my faith. Since I was a little girl, I've been attending Sunday School and did everything a young Christian girl being brought up in a Christian family would do like attending superfun church camps and mugging for memory quizzes. It was more of not realising how much I wanted the world to know about my faith and thus delaying the public proclamation. And a small part of it had to do with drowning in the baptism pool.
Thank God for the eight years of swimming lessons that I didn't drown today.
But today truly will go down as one of the most memorable and meaningful days of my life. I was so scared last night as I was thinking of how the baptism process would be like - would I slip and fall? Or embarrass myself somehow in the baptism pool? But I prayed, and God reassured me. As I stood in the front pew today singing "Amazing Grace" during worship, I was filled with a strange sense of calm, even though I knew I was going to go up on stage soon in front of hundreds of people. I felt happiness and joy at the prospect.
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
Standing in the baptism pool with Uncle Ivan's hands clutching mine and feeling small in front of the hundreds of people, I never felt happier. And for all those delaying their baptism because of the rumours of the freezing temperatures of the water, fret not because I think they found a way to heat the water up. It was lukewarm.
Of course, my baptism didn't go without its moments.
1) I didn't know you had to bring a towel. I knew we were going to get wet, but from the past baptism services that I had witnessed, these people always seemed to emerge out of the baptism pool straight into a huge towel. So I thought the church provided towels, just like a hotel. Well, turns out they don't and Nick had to get his mom to bring one for me. And, that huge thing that the people run into after they are baptised is actually this black sheet shielding you from the congregation in your wet, cold state.
2) I was the second girl to go, and for some reason, Uncle Ivan didn't fully immerse the first girl (woman) - her hair wasn't even wet! So I thought to myself, 'Yay! My hair won't get destroyed and I won't have to look too ugly.' But when it came to my turn, just as I was about to be submerged, I heard a voice above me hissing, "Ivan! Full immersion!" And so in I went, fully immersed, sputtering like a fish gasping for air as I came out. Water went into my nose as well. I must have looked SO ugly.
3) During the photo-taking session with the church elders and all the council members, one side of my earring dropped off halfway. I panicked and shrieked in typical fashion, telling the photographer to stop taking pictures for awhile because I simply couldn't take the picture without my earring. I am most definitely going to be remembered forever as the brainless photo whore.
'Tis Grace hath brought me safe thus far
And Grace will lead me home.
I really want to thank everybody who came (not an award-winning speech because I really mean it) - my family, my cell group especially Sharon (I love the chocolate overload and the flower!), Julienne, Matt (even though you pronounced my name in a disgusting manner), Zhong Zheng, Linus and Felix, and Nick and Mae who I'll remember as going through the waters of baptism with me today. I thank God for each and every one of you.
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20
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