Jeremiah's Baptism

Today I stand in awe of God's soveriegnty. I was able to witness the 4th of our six children, and only son, Jeremiah, be baptized. The sweetest part was watching my husband, Bryan perform this symbolic step in Bubba's life.

A few months ago, our cat had kittens. We are in the process of moving and cannot have any pets in our new home. We were facing the challenge of finding a home for all SIX cats! After exhausting all of MY resources, I had decided to take the last orange kitten to the Humane Society. This was devastating to my children who were sure she would be euthanized. That is when God brought out HIS resources :)
I received an email that evening from someone helping a family from the "Make a Wish Foundation". She told me the story of an eight year old little girl that was dying of Leukemia. One of her wishes was to have an orange kitten. WOW!

Through the next couple of weeks, we set up the exchange of the kitten, all along following this child, Cambrey's story on Caring Bridge. She was indeed a beautiful 8 year old girl, stuck with a horrible terminal disease. We prayed for her often. My heart would bleed for these parents that were losing one of their children. Her parents would write of how strong Cambrey's faith was, about how she wasn't afraid to die because she knew Jesus would be with her. Her mom also shared that they had prayed for the kitten to give her comfort through her last days. They took the kitten (now named Cutie) to the vet and learned that she too had Leukemia!! Seeing God's hand in all of this has been breathtaking!!

Jeremiah was especially, touched by her story. He began to ask a lot of questions about God, death, salvation etc. These talks went on for weeks. I know this seems deep for an 8 year old boy, but he has a very sensitive and discerning spirit. He asked me really HARD questions. (Some I had to seek answers for). I saw the heart of my little boy grow from curiosity about God, to having a desire to want to serve and live for HIM! Don't get me wrong, he is still "Bubba", he was climbing on the roof of the van and jumping off shortly after.. LOL! But we had some very tender moments I will cherish forever. We spend so much time with homeschooling, and life in general, trying to instill in our children a hunger for the Lord. It was precious, to see the lightbulb go on. The moment when they finally "get it". He decided that day that he wanted to be saved! We talked through the steps of salvation together, and he attended "first steps" at our church, Valley View. He even says now that he wants to be a pastor when he grows up :) (just looked up the meaning of Jeremiah.. it means "chosen by God)

I sent a note to Cambrey's mom and asked her to let Cambrey know, that we were so sorry for what she was going through, but that she had saved Jeremiah's life! And because of her innocent, courageous faith, she would meet Jeremiah one day. Not in this life, but beyond the gates of splendor. In a new life that is an eternal paradise for those who believe. He had been saved, and would be baptized soon. Cambrey was baptized on July 10th in her swimming pool at home. (she was too sick to leave her home). One week later, on July 17th, she went HOME.

Which leads me to today..

I was able to witness my only son be baptized by my amazing husband. Seeing the man of God Bryan has become, makes me love him more now than I ever thought possible. Seeing the man of God Jeremiah will be, give me joy indescibable. God is truely AWESOME and AMAZING!!!

I feel completely blessed beyond measure for the life I have been given. Seeing one parent lose a child while I still have all six of mine here with me, is proof that God is no respecter of persons. I surely do not deserve this precious life I have and even more importantly, the immeasurable gift of salvation provided by Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. I have made up my mind to be content with what this life offers, knowing that it is but a temporary pit stop, to an eternal life in heaven.