~And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you~ Jesus
I was ready to publicly profess my allegiance to God through baptism. At my church, they perform infant dedications and then kids and adults decide when they're ready to be baptized. My pastor explained baptism as an outward expression of an inward change and since I was experiencing that, I felt it was time. I had thought about it in the past, but wasn't serious enough to go through with it and the thought of giving my testimony in public was a little terrifying since I didn't know what to say. If I had given one, it most likely would've been impersonal and disingenuous as I would've tried to make it sound holy and perfect.
I put on my black bikini since I didn't own any one pieces and covered it with a hot pink, long- sleeve hoody cover-up for modesty. I nervously stood in line waiting to give my testimony at the middle school pool near my church. Each church that I've attended does baptisms a little differently and at this one, I just expected to get dunked. It never mentioned anything about a testimony, so I didn't think of one in advance which was probably for the best. I usually experience panic attacks in anticipation of speeches. The head pastor of the 3000 member church and other church leadership were in attendance. They also had a video camera and microphone to record everyone. There were about 30 people getting baptized and about 60 family and friends in the audience sitting on the bleachers. In the past, this would've been extremely intimidating and I probably wouldn't have gone through with it.
In one of my pastor's sermons, he mentioned that before his wife was about to give a speech, she said a prayer because she was extremely nervous and God told her to "do it afraid" and that He would be with her. That's what I thought about as I stepped up to the mic. I spoke from the heart and said, "Hi, my name is Cindy and I was addicted to drugs and alcohol for 17 years. God performed a miracle in my life by freeing me from the bondage of chemicals. I tried to do everything on my own for so long and I failed. I need Him for guidance because I'm powerless over my life. I've been sober for 104 days thanks to God."
People clapped and cheered. Soon after, I was immersed in the pool and my old self died. I emerged out of the water reborn with a commitment to follow Jesus which for myself, means loving all people, giving back to the world and helping others who struggle.
I put on my black bikini since I didn't own any one pieces and covered it with a hot pink, long- sleeve hoody cover-up for modesty. I nervously stood in line waiting to give my testimony at the middle school pool near my church. Each church that I've attended does baptisms a little differently and at this one, I just expected to get dunked. It never mentioned anything about a testimony, so I didn't think of one in advance which was probably for the best. I usually experience panic attacks in anticipation of speeches. The head pastor of the 3000 member church and other church leadership were in attendance. They also had a video camera and microphone to record everyone. There were about 30 people getting baptized and about 60 family and friends in the audience sitting on the bleachers. In the past, this would've been extremely intimidating and I probably wouldn't have gone through with it.
In one of my pastor's sermons, he mentioned that before his wife was about to give a speech, she said a prayer because she was extremely nervous and God told her to "do it afraid" and that He would be with her. That's what I thought about as I stepped up to the mic. I spoke from the heart and said, "Hi, my name is Cindy and I was addicted to drugs and alcohol for 17 years. God performed a miracle in my life by freeing me from the bondage of chemicals. I tried to do everything on my own for so long and I failed. I need Him for guidance because I'm powerless over my life. I've been sober for 104 days thanks to God."
People clapped and cheered. Soon after, I was immersed in the pool and my old self died. I emerged out of the water reborn with a commitment to follow Jesus which for myself, means loving all people, giving back to the world and helping others who struggle.
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