When the boys woke up this morning, I asked them if they knew what today is.
They looked at me weird and said, “Mom, Mother’s Day is tomorrow.”
(Well, even though Mothers do deserve more than one day of celebration in my humble opinion 😂, that’s NOT exactly what I was referring to.)
“Today is my birthday!” I said
They looked at me again with very confused expressions… “Mom, you’re tricking us!!! Your birthday’s not until next month!!!!”
Allow me to explain…you see, May 7th is my Christian birthday.
On this day, 25 years ago, in a little church building in Hobart, Indiana, I was baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of my sins.
I had been taught about Jesus all my life. I had read scriptures in my Bible classes, heard sermons every Sunday, and at 12 years old, I believed that Jesus was the way to eternal life.
Maybe I didn’t know it all back then (and I still don’t), but I knew enough to say that I wanted Christ to save me and I wanted to live for Him.
So, standing in front of a church full of people, I confessed my belief in Christ and the preacher dunked me down into the water — and when I came back up, I was risen a new creature.
Just as Christ had risen from the grave, I rose up too. I was dead in sin before and now raised to walk in newness of life — I was born again that day.
And I still can’t believe it’s been 25 years!
A lot has happened in that time, and yet it feels like it went by in a flash.
I’ve never been terribly persecuted because of my Christianity— I’m thankful to live in a country where freedom of speech and freedom of religion are still alive.
But I have lost friends over it. I’ve been mocked because of it. I’ve “missed out” on some things that are considered “cultural norms” in our society because of it.
But I’ll tell you what, NOTHING IS WORTH MISSING HEAVEN.
Praise God for parents who were active in my upbringing and in making sure I fully understood that. What an invaluable gift God has given me through them.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that the decision to BECOME a Christian was much easier than the daily decision to BE a Christian. To BE who God calls me to be.
I try and I fail in different ways every single day. But I keep pressing on. No one can take your faith from you, unless you let them.
Walking with Jesus is a continuous process. A moment by moment battle at times. And a daily privilege.
If you are a Christian, don’t give up the good fight of faith.
If you aren’t a Christian, but you want to be…message me anytime and I would be glad to help study with you! I’d be more than happy to welcome you to a group of believers who can assist you in laying hold of eternal salvation by expressing your trust, faith, and obedience to God through baptism.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” – Romans 1:16
Until next time…
-PWAP