Elizabeth is our sparkly 7th grader. Unlike her brothers, math doesn't thrill her. Instead, she delights in art, poetry, and literature. She enjoys Shakespeare, painting with watercolor, creating things out of clay, and devouring all things chocolate. Her brothers won't admit it, but she can usually out-kick them on the Taekwondo mat.
The highlight of Elizabeth's year took place this past fall. On a sunny September day, at a beautiful beach, she followed Jesus in baptism!
That day, along with dozens of others from our church, Elizabeth waded into the ocean water to make her public stand for Christ. I will always treasure hearing her answer the baptism questions so enthusiastically.
"Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?" "Yes!"
"Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" "Yes!"
"Is it your desire to live for Him with all your heart and are you willing to serve God's people wherever He calls you?" "Yes!"
"Then upon your profession of faith in Jesus Christ and your public commitment to live for Him, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
And Elizabeth has been baptized! A multitude of angels in heaven were rejoicing and so was this one mama on earth!
Here's what I wrote to Elizabeth to commemorate her baptism:
Dear Elizabeth,
I am so thrilled that you have decided to follow Christ in baptism! This is a day I will forever hold close to my heart as your Mom, because I have prayed for this ever since you were a baby. It is a big moment for you, when you are declaring to the world that you belong to Jesus. The Bible says that when a person is in in Christ, she is a new creation. Old things have passed away; all things have become new. That means you are a new Elizabeth today!
Do you remember our little bedtime ritual when you were a
little girl? I used to tuck you into bed and say, “Elizabeth, I love you!” And
you would smile and say, “I….…you!” You wanted to say the same thing back to
me, but you couldn’t pronounce the word “love” yet, so you just left it out
knowing that Mom would fill in the blank. “I…..you!” I knew exactly what you
meant! That blank was filled with "love!"
You are 12 years old right now, and only God knows what lies
ahead for you in the days ahead. We’ve memorized Psalm 139, where He says, “In
your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.” That means God has already written your
life story, and it is a good one because He is good! You can trust Him with
your life. To you, the days ahead are unknown, a big blank. But to God, that
blank is filled with His love.
Keep remembering how much He loves you, and you will stay
close to Him, guard your heart with purity, and trust Him with your life, even
when you don’t understand everything.
I am so proud of you, Elizabeth! I…..LOVE……YOU!!
Mom
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." 3 John 1:3-5
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