There are really no words sufficient, so I'll just let you watch:
This child of ours has been asking for over a year to be baptized. She started asking last spring, when she was just barely 5. She wanted to be baptized, and she wanted her daddy to do it. And, in her typically Leah way, she was adamant about it.
I am so very proud of the way she has grown in her faith.
I know that there is sometimes controversy over when to baptize a child. There were a few criteria I used to evaluate whether she was ready.
1) She made a clear faith commitment independent of me, expressing not only her love for the Lord but also her understanding of her need for Him as a Savior. Although I helped facilitate the conversation, the convictions were all hers.
2) Her desire to be baptized was not based on wanting to do something because she thought it was "cool," but desiring to express her obedience to the Bible and her faith.
3) Our whole world is geared toward honoring God. God is at the center of literally everything we do in our home, so I've had plenty of opportunities to watch how Leah has grown and matured in her faith. Obviously, she isn't done on that front, but I have watcher her "get" Biblical principles through discipleship in a way that is powerful. I am fully content in the choice to affirm her faith, even at a young age, knowing that we have and will continue to follow it up with action.
In the book of James, we get the wise advice to "be do-ers of the Word, not hearers only" (James 1:22). Because it is in line with Biblical principles, and because our little girl's heart so longed to follow in obedience, Casey and I felt good about letting her express her faith in such a powerful, public way. In the same way that I believe each child has a unique and individual educational trajectory, I believe we should honor each child and meet them where they are in their spiritual walk. We may not always allow our children to be baptized this early, but Leah?
She was ready.
Leah truly has a heart that loves the Lord. I can't wait to watch where His mighty plans will take her! It is such a delight to be her mom!
