Photographs & a Blessing

This is a beautiful picture of my grandmother(my mom's mom) getting baptized in Virginia. My uncle Larry posted this picture yesterday on his facebook page & I have fallen in love with it. For so many reasons I am in love with this picture.

This picture has captured my heart because look at ALL of the people who showed up for her baptism. This is incredible! It saddens my heart that it is rare to have a baptism service like this one. It breaks my heart that we are not making it a habit to publicly come together in large numbers to celebrate people as they make a statement in saying that they are giving their lives to serve the Lord. Now, we do have baptisms in churches (ours included) & each time someone is baptized it is overwhelming for me & beautiful. However, how special it is to have a baptismal service outside of the walls of our churches & at a place where people have to physically make the effort to go to a different location to participate in celebrating someone being baptized. I know it is not biblical to be baptized outside the church, but I just wish this tradition was still going strong. The most important thing is that people are declaring their salvation & commitment to the Lord. 

In case you are wondering why it is important to be baptized, let me explain. As believers & followers of Christ we make the choice to get baptized. Baptism is not required to be saved by the grace of Jesus but instead it is a way to show the world you have made the decision to follow Jesus. 

As a bit of encouragement that outdoor baptisms still do take place, let me share some pictures that are special to me. Last April my brother who is in college at Texas State was baptized (along with others) in the river. These pictures were taken by a friend of Robert Kyle's & they are so appreciated. 

Praying together. My little brother is towards the back of the picture.

I love how joyful everyone is!

My brother is involved in Chi Alpha at Texas State. If you are unfamiliar with this ministry let me just say that it is incredible & changing lives all across college campuses. I love that my brother is making the choice to be involved in Chi Alpha & pursue the heart of God while in college. There are so many other things he could be involved in, but thankfully he is making the decision to follow Christ.

Before  I go, another reason I'm in love with this picture of my grandmother being baptized is because it represents a woman after God's heart. It is a reminder to me, that I must continue to invest in my relationship with Christ. I was in 8th grade when she passed & my heat is heavy each time I let myself think about how much I would love to sit next to her this morning & talk about Jesus. She loved the Lord very much & I enjoyed listening to her talk about her experiences with the Lord. This woman had so many incredible times with God & I'm blessed to have heard soem of them directly from her. My mom's parents lived in PA & we only saw them once a year. After my sweet grandpa passe,d in the summers I would sleep in my grandma's room with her. She would talk to me about the Lord & directed me to always listen to his voice & to trust him. I loved when my grandmother would pray over me, because there was never a time I could not feel her prayers & the Holy Spirit working. Today I am reminded that there is a blessing in knowing the word, praying, and following Christ. Praise the Lord we can freely serve him!
~Brit 

Linking up with Into the Word Wednesdays.