Pastor Chuck Baptizes Joseph and His Mom
Joseph Anderson Donetti watched the butterfly flit from a tall stalk of grass to a wildflower. The orange-and-black patterns on its wings were beautiful. Joseph wondered if each Monarch butterfly wing had a slightly different color pattern. He knew that the black-and-white patterns on zebras are all different. And people’s fingerprints are all different. Well, even people’s faces are all different. Everyone all over the world has two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. But they’re all different shapes and sizes. And nobody looks the same as anyone else, even though their eyes and noses and mouths are in the same places on their faces! Joseph chuckled to himself.
“Shh!” Mom poked Joseph with her elbow. “Pastor Chuck is talking.”
“Thank you all for coming to help celebrate this most important event,” Pastor Chuck said. He smiled at the big group of church members sitting on the grass at the river’s edge. “The four folk who are going to be baptized today have given their lives to Jesus. They have accepted Him as their Lord and their Savior. And today they are being baptized in public so that everyone will know about their decision.
“A baptismal ceremony is something like a wedding ceremony,” Pastor Chuck went on. “When two people decide to give themselves to each other they promise to stay together for the rest of their lives—no matter what happens. They make these promises in public so that everyone will know about their decision.
“Sometimes, unfortunately, people don’t always keep the promises they made. They don’t stay married. They get divorced. But that was never Jesus’ plan. In the Bible, Jesus calls us, the church, His bride. And we can be absolutely, absolutely positive that He is never going to divorce us. He gave His life for us. He is building a wonderful heavenly home for us. And he wants to live with us forever.”
Pastor Chuck stopped talking. He flung his arms wide open as if he wanted to hug everybody who was listening. “It’s so wonderful to belong to Jesus!” he exclaimed.
Hannah was to be baptized first. She and Pastor Chuck walked down into the water together.
Joseph watched carefully. He was kind of glad he wasn’t going to be first. He wanted to see exactly how the whole thing was done. He put one hand on his stomach. It felt a little funny. He hoped he wasn’t going to be sick. How embarrassing it would be to throw up in front of everybody!
Mom put her arm around Joseph’s shoulders. “I feel the same way,” she whispered. “We’re just excited and happy and maybe a little nervous.”
Joseph gave his mother a grateful smile. It was amazing how she could tell what he was thinking.
Pastor Chuck put one hand on Hannah’s back and raised his other hand above her head. “Hannah, because of your love for Jesus and because you have given your life to Him, I am proud to baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.”
Pastor Chuck lowered Hannah under the water, and then he lifted her right back up again.
Joseph let out the breath he had been holding. That didn’t look scary after all.
Pastor Chuck baptized Trevor next.
And then it was Joseph’s turn. He and Mom stepped into the river hand in hand. The cold water lapped at Joseph’s ankles and then his legs. They walked deeper and deeper into the water until they were standing beside Pastor Chuck.
Pastor Chuck smiled at them. “I really can’t think of anything in the world more special than baptizing someone,” he said, “unless it’s baptizing two people from the same family together.”
He spoke to the friends gathered on the grass. “Joseph and his mother have both given their hearts to Jesus,” he said. “We talked about who should be baptized first, and Mrs. Donetti decided she would be first because she wants Joseph to always be able to follow her example in life.”
Joseph felt the current of the river gently tugging at him as he watched Pastor Chuck baptize Mom. He planted his feet firmly so he wouldn’t be pulled away.
When Pastor Chuck lifted Mom out of the water, she practically glowed. She gave Joseph a happy, wet hug. Her hair splashed big drops of water on his face.
It was Joseph’s turn. Pastor Chuck put one hand on Joseph’s back and raised his other arm above Joseph’s head. “Joseph Anderson Donetti, because you love Jesus and have given your life to Him, I am very proud to baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Pastor Chuck lowered Joseph into the river and then lifted him back out again.
Joseph shook his head and wiped the water from his eyes. He grinned at Mom. He grinned at Pastor Chuck. He grinned at G.M., waiting on the shore. He was so glad he and his mom could show everyone they had decided to follow Jesus. And he just knew God was saying to everyone in heaven, “Look. These are my children, and I love them. I am very pleased with them.”
G.M. handed Joseph and Mom each a big beach towel. She wrapped her arms around them and kissed the top of Joseph’s wet head.
“Congratulations!” Mac exclaimed. “Congratulations to you, too, Mrs. Donetti,” she added. Mac held her hands behind her back. Her eyes sparkled. “Joseph, there was one friend you forgot to invite to your baptism today.”
Joseph looked puzzled.
“Well, he came anyway,” Mac declared. “I spotted him watching from a rock a few minutes ago. Look!” Mac brought her hands back around in front of her. “It’s Harvey!”
