I was so excited for Max to get baptized this past weekend. He wanted me to attend his baptismal interview and I kind of wondered how it would go. To be honest it went as I expected. Despite having Come Follow Me lessons every night before bed for the past three years plus family scripture time before that, he replied, “I don’t know,” to quite a few questions, but when the Bishop asked him if he believed Jesus Christ was his savior, Max said, “Yes.” And that was really all that mattered. The simple faith of a child is really what our Father in Heaven wants from us. I think that’s one of the traits we should glean from humbling ourselves like a little child (see Matthew 8:4).
The ceremony was simple with most of those who attended being grandparents and Andy and I and the kids. It was very special to be one of the witnesses of his baptism and I teared up when I put the white towel around him when he got out of the water. Andy said after he was baptized he just looked up at Andy and smiled. The whole day he was glowing. He prayed at dinner and said, “Thank you for the Holy Ghost.” I teared up again. It was very touching to see my first baby old enough to choose His Savior with such an eagerness and willingness to do so. I’m reading a book entitled, “The Spiritual Physics of Light.” It is written by an LDS professor from Dartmouth. I’m only two chapters in but have already gained insight into the nature of light. He talks about Light having two properties- causing heat and causing directional illumination. When I read about that the thought came into my mind, perhaps this is why we always describe the Holy Ghost as a warm blanket. I will share more snippets as I dive into this book, but light has always been a fascination of mine, especially as it relates to the scriptures and the gospel. In fact, I wrote a term paper on light in my Doctrine and Covenants class at BYU. I need to go back and read it and see if I can add to it ten years later.
It was wonderful to have both sets of parents in attendance and one of the blessings of COVID meant I could provide a way for distant family to attend virtually. Our Houston family and some of my siblings were able to pop in and witness Max taking this important step.
My parents arrived Wednesday afternoon. We went out to dinner with them on Thursday and had full intentions of treating them to dinner, but Dad wouldn’t let us. Next time. Thursday morning we went to the lake. I think it brought back a lot of memories for my dad and mom because to me it reminds me of lake Lanier. Lake Thurmond is a very large lake so there is a lot of space for beaches and it never feels crowded. Andy and I have talked about getting a boat post military if we end up staying in Augusta, which would be so fun on that Lake.
Darron and Julie arrived late Friday and Saturday was spent focusing on Max. We celebrated his baptism at MOD pizza. Sunday we all got ready, some for church and some for the airport. I took my parents to the airport and met the rest of the crew at the church. I teared up once again as we welcomed Max in as the newest member of our ward. Some days I wish my kids were more independent and grown, but moments like these remind me that time goes by too fast and these kids will only be little once in the entirety of eternity.