Baptism and Trust

In my church children are baptized at 8 years of age. They are immeresed in the water and brought back up again. In preparation of baptism many children worry about that moment that they are completely under the water. They each have their own reasons they worry. For some it is their face being in the water, worrying about water getting in their eyes or nose, worrying about holding their breath or worrying that the person holding them under the water will not be able to lift them back up. Perhaps they are even worried about their own strength in being able to help the other person lift them up.

What they do not realize, often until after they have been baptized, is that they are only under for a moment and they have strong, capable, righteous hands guiding them. I think it works the same for many of us during our trails. We are afraid of being left under the water, of not being able to breathe, of not seeing clearly, of drowning, or suffocating. We worry about how long it will last and if we will be able to withstand the time under (hold our breath). We get angry at God for not pulling us out sooner or even think he is the one holding us under but in retrospect we find that he is not the one holding us under, he is the one holding us up.

If you trust God and allow yourself to be immersed in whatever he is teaching you then you will find that just as with bapstim when you come out of the water (trial) you will be a new cleansed person. You just have to hold onto him and let him pull you up, trust in his experience, knowledge strength, and in his timing.  

My son with my Dad before his baptism