When I was born, my parents had me baptized as a symbol of their promise to raise me in the church and with Christian values. According to my mom, I was four when I prayed to Jesus and ask him to forgive me. It was the night before Easter, and we were discussing the Easter story and why we celebrate. I knew that it wasn't about the bunny or the eggs filled with candy. I understood that I made mistakes; that I wasn't perfect. Mom said that is why we have Easter. I told her that my preschool teacher had said Jesus died on the cross and then rose again to forgive me of my mistakes, and that I believed it was true.
As my faith grew, I said that being baptized was my parents' decision, and not mine. I wanted to be baptized again; I wanted it to be a declaration of my faith. Our church had a ceremony where people were being baptized. Most people had written a story of how they came to believe and why they were being baptized. At the end of the ceremony, they had open invitation where anyone who wanted could still be baptized. I told mom that I really wanted to do this; she did too. We were not planning on it, but we did. Mom went first and was baptized by a pastor friend, then it was my turn. She stayed in and baptized me with my dad and poppy standing on the outside.
Many friends from church came to watch. It was a very awesome moment for me. This wasn't the start of my relationship with God, it has been a journey that started the Easter when I was 4 years-old. This isn't the end either - I hope to share my growth and walk with Christ here.
This is my personal journey. Things I've learned from mistakes I've made, verses I've learned, and studies I've done.
Thank you for reading my GRACE & MERCY blog!
~ Lorena
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