The trip to the church was the first time I had been out of the house. My grandfather was very insistent that his children be baptized as soon as possible. "If they can go to town, they can go to the church!" (We lived in a rural area where making the 10 mile trip to town was as much a social outing as a necessity.)
I wore a baptismal gown that my mother had made for my brother. That same gown has been worn by his children and by all three of mine.
At four weeks of age, I was surrendered by my mother and father and commended into the care of God.
There have been bumps along the way and there are sure to be more in the future, but I have had the resources to deal with them all, as a result of the assurances given me by virtue of that first foray into the world. The promises spoken over me on that day have proven to be a shield and a comfort.
My prayer is that each of you might retrace the sign of the cross on your forehead and remember the day that water was poured over you and you were assured that as a child of God, you were "marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit" forever.
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