Remembering My Baptism

I am thoroughly enjoying the series on insights from Matthew, and although it appears as though I’m behind schedule with the chapters, trust me when I tell you it is all in hand and come Monday 28th  February, it will be alright and all complete.

It gives me sufficient time, however to address something that scandalously I’ve never addressed to date.

There is something that is very special about the month of February to me. For it is in this month that I got baptised. Saturday 19th February 1994, as I recall, at the age of 16 at the venue of the Mill Road Baptist Church, funnily enough on Mill Road in me hometown of Wellingborough I under-went full water immersion on the confession of my faith.

I have gone through many feeling about the time since then and I remember it fairly well. One of the memories I have is that we used the venue because our regular place of corporate worship did not have a baptismal pool. The location had been used for whenever baptisms were required in the church, which in the time I was there meant not a lot. So it was a big deal for there to be a baptism in Wellingborough. What reinforced the special nature of the time was that I was the only one being baptised. So people from churches around the country had gathered at the location to witness it.

Yet for all those who turned up, I may as well have been anyone, because the celebration wasn’t so much about me as about the occasion itself. I have little recollection of anyone from that day coming round to genuinely encourage me in my Christian journey. Do I feel bitter? No. I do feel it’s a bit of a sham (no not shame, sham) to turn up to such occasions and hand out clichés like rice at a wedding without following up with the real deal of what makes the journey worthwhile, constructive ongoing fellowship.

I also remember it because it felt a little bit like an anti-climax. I go in the pool, I mention to my Dad that the water is wet (a great insight, I know) and a couple of lines later, it’s all done. I’m changed, we leave the building within the scheduled time, I’m at home and that’s that. My life does not feel that different.

Yet looking back on it now, it is one of the most significant events of my life. With this event I publicly acknowledged to the world that my life now belonged to Jesus. Yet that is not where the journey began for me – that began in the previous August where a series of incidents lead to me making now what is undoubtedly the best decision I ever made … that I never made. (I will leave you to ponder on that.)

Today was fairly momentous in the Dryden Calendar. It was the first time in over a year that Ruth, David and myself were in the same place at the same time. A Dryden UK gathering that was almost literally years in the making. As we conversed and reflected on life together and how far we’ve grown, we particularly considered the time back in Wellingborough.

I am grateful for that time where it all began. Now I would encourage anyone to note carefully when their baptism took place and remember it as a very special day in their life.

For all that has happened since then, I can never stop giving thanks to God for that significant turning point in me life, it is a great milestone and a brilliant decision that I do not regret. Celebrating it, I hope that my ongoing journey with Jesus will see me able to see others celebrate such a milestone as they come into contact with the risen Lord and Saviour.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd