Let’s talk about baptism and why I decided to get baptized again at the age of 32! If you haven’t heard or seen on my Instagram page, I got baptized again this past Sunday! I still can’t believe I did it but I’m glad that I did and I’m going to share why today! I was first baptized at the age of 12. I remember our church announcing that they were doing baptisms and my mom signed me up to do it. I grew up in the church and remembered seeing people get dipped in pools and etc. but I honestly didn’t understand why they were doing it. To be real, I had no idea why my mom signed me up when I didn’t truly understand the meaning of “getting dipped in water”. So I did it at a local YMCA and that was it!
Even though I experienced some tribulations in my earlier years of life, it seemed like the older I got, the worse those tribulations got. I mean it was one thing after another and I was like Yo, what is going on? If I am this so-called Christian and believer in God, why am I experiencing so many trials and tribulations? The more I experienced, the more I started to stray away from God. Not on purpose but I was becoming numb to life and consequences of my sin that I just didn’t care about. I was literally drowning to the point I didn’t feel like I was going to be saved anyway so I kept on “living life” and not a life with much purpose.
It wasn’t until after my 2nd suicide attempt that I decided to take my butt back to church and get my life back together. Not because I felt lead to go back but because I know God intervened during that attempt and gave me another chance at life. Like who drives 70 mph on I-95 through the DMV, takes their hand off of the wheel, feels the car going off the road then feels a jump in their body, grabs the steering wheel, and swerves back on the highway. No car or truck in sight. No traffic that I could’ve hit from swerving so quickly. After I got my act together, I knew that was God and He wasn’t done with me yet. So, to pay Him back for saving me, I felt in my heart that I needed to do better and get saved again. I started going back to church (I attended Spirit of Faith Christian Center back in Maryland for years, then alternated between Bridgeway in Columbia and SOF once they closed the Ellicott City location) and it was the best decision I made for myself at the time. I started reading my bible on my own, I would pray at the park, grocery store, my heart was no longer harden towards people, family even myself. So through my progress and seeing what life truly was I was starting to somewhat live for Christ again, I said okay I think I want to get baptized again!
Fast forward to now, I remember saying that I wanted to get baptized in 2020. But who would’ve thought 2020 was going to turn out the way that it did? Churches were closed and there was no way that I was able to get it done. Then 2021 hit and started out kind of rough for me on a personal level. I experienced another miscarriage at 10 weeks that started on New Year’s Day, lost both of my beautiful grandmas 6 months apart, was hospitalized for unexpected health issues (not to mention the highest hospital bill I’ve ever seen in my life), anxiety, and panic attacks, which I’ve NEVER experienced in my life. Like I was having them in my car, in my sleep and I was afraid to go to sleep at times because I didn’t want to have heart palpations or attacks in my sleep. Then the fears and anxiety with the pandemic still going and fears behind the vaccines and other personal things. I mean it was just too much for me. And no matter how many times, I cried out to God and cast my worries and anxieties to Him, I felt like I was still struggling spiritually and was starting to lose faith and hope. I would encourage my friends and beautiful community online but struggle behind closed doors. And if you know me, you know that is not how I want to live. I don’t know what to live a life of fear because that it is not the spirit He gave us! He literally tells of so many times in the bible and literally, a thousand times in one chapter in Isaiah do not fear, do not be afraid, and yet here I was doing the complete opposite.
I have been following Transformation Church for almost a year now and recently Pastor Mike Todd has been preaching on The Upgrade. And this series has opened my eyes and my spiritual life to another level! When he mentioned baptisms, it was like a conviction hit my spirit immediately. I told y’all how it was something that I was planning to do last year but couldn’t due to the pandemic! So, I knew it was confirmation that I needed to take this leap this year when the time was right! When Flood Sunday hit, I didn’t think I would be able to participate. I didn’t have anything scheduled with my local church and I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it without a priest or pastor.
Sunday morning, I woke up feeling awful. I had been super sick for the past couple of days, had a wicked migraine from the day before that linger into the next day. I asked my husband could he take me to the urgent care because I didn’t think I was going to make it that day. I was tired of taking OTC medication, I was tired of being in pain and I was just ready to seek help. But then I heard the Holy Spirit tell me so clearly not to go. I thought I was tripping or me trying to talk myself out of going to avoid another hospital bill, but I heard it clear as day, Don’t go. So, I didn’t. I tuned into Transformation Church and felt lead to join in Flood Sunday. It was crazy because we literally just bought an inflatable pool from Sam’s Club two weeks ago, and it was like I was being guided somehow to do it there. And y’all it was like the perfect day. We were in the comfort of our backyard, my kids watching (they had no clue what was going on lol. They thought I was going swimming with them) my husband dipped me in, and it was literally one of the most joyous and freeing moments of my life!
I don’t know what is ahead for me on this journey, but I am so excited. I am tired of just existing. I want to live and live abundantly! I want to live a life with purpose! I know I am not exempt from troubles and of course, the evil one will be trying as usual, but I know I am saved, protected, and guided by my Lord and Savior. I am free, I am a new creation and plus, I want to live eternally with my Heavenly Father, so I have a spot saved for me in heaven ayeee! LOL. I had no intentions of sharing my non-traditional baptism because it was something I wanted to do for my spiritual journey and something I wanted to document to look back on.
But I felt lead to share it and man the amount of love I have received so far is so humbling and amazing! If you’re thinking about getting baptized again, you should! Pray about it first so that you are led to do it and not because you see others doing it. Do it because you feel in your heart to do so and so you can be made new in Christ. I’m telling living life in shambles ain’t cute girl lol! And also so that your eternity is secured in heaven! This world is temporary, and we are like mist, here one minute and gone the next. So, where we go next depends on what we do with the time we have here on Earth. And I don’t know about y’all but ya girl doesn’t want to go down below. It’s already hot where I live now in Texas so I can’t imagine how hot it is down. I would get on the evil one’s nerves begging for air every day LOL!
I hope this was inspiring for you! And if you don’t want to get dipped in water or go through that process, there is a prayer that you can say and declare for salvation! But there is nothing like getting cleansed in the water! Let me know if you’re planning to get baptized or have been baptized already!! 🙂