Marking Spiritual Milestones by Joy Fisher
-May 4, 2011-Comments (3)
My 10-year-old son, Jacob, was baptized a few weeks ago. The special day began with a prayer time with our pastor before the service. My husband, David, accompanied Jacob to the changing room. I sat in the congregation with our extended family, standing in support of Jacob as is the custom at our church.Each child is encouraged to write a letter to God, which our pastor reads from the baptismal pool. Jacob’s letter said:
Dear God,
I’m excited about being baptized because then the whole church will know that I’m a Christian! I want everyone to know that I’m a Christian!
From, Jacob
A few minutes after the baptism, Jacob and David arrived back at our pew and joined us for the rest of the worship service. Not wanting to embarrass Jacob, I just squeezed his shoulder and whispered that I was proud of him. When we sat down after the next hymn, Jacob pulled a piece of paper and a pencil out of his church bag. He’s quite a good artist, so I had no problem interpreting the drawing he slid over to me: It was unmistakably a pair of underwear. I looked at him with raised eyebrows and he gave me one of his silly grins before he looked away.
My husband saw what was happening and filled in the gaps. Apparently when I packed the bag of items Jacob would need after his baptism, I forgot to put in the most important thing — dry underwear! I suppose that when we talk about his baptism in the years to come, the first thing anybody mentions will be that Jacob had to go commando in his khakis through the rest of church.
In a way, I’m kind of glad I forgot the underwear. It gives us a starting point for talking, again and again, about one of the greatest spiritual moments of my son’s life. It’s been fun to think of ways to remind us often of Jacob’s decision. As part of the preparation for his baptism, Jacob completed LifeWay’s “I’m a Christian Now” workbook. One excellent suggestion given in the book was to make a memory box. In it are his letter to God, worship guides from the dates of his profession of faith and his baptism, and cards he received from family members and friends.
I plan to make a DVD of the photographs and video clips from Jacob’s special day. We watch home videos often and will enjoy putting this one in the rotation. My sister and her family gave Jacob a 6-inch wooden cross, which is on display in his room. He also received a certificate from the church office, which will also hang in his room as soon as I can get it matted and framed.
If your kids are like mine, they likely have already accumulated trophies for sports, medals for science fairs and perfect attendance at school, accolades for piano and dance recitals, and patches for scouting. For sure, we also need some tangible reminders when our children make the most important decision of their lives, to follow Christ.
In what ways do you mark your child’s spiritual milestones? Let’s share our ideas to be sure our children know—and remember—how important these accomplishments truly are.
Joy Fisher has been a ParentLife contributor since before her children were born; her oldest is inching ever closer to his 13th birthday. She edits Special Buddies, LifeWay’s Bible study curriculum for children with intellectual and developmental special needs.
Comments (3)
Love this idea, love this article! So special.
Posted on May 4, 2011 1:00 PM
Nice blog, Joy....and I'm so glad to see the effort you are giving to remembering Jacob's baptism. I laughed at your unique story and fondly remembered both of our children's baptisms. The sweetest memory was Julie singing "Amazing Grace" (our congregation sang that after baptisms) as she went back to the robing room to change back into her regular clothes. It is important to have tangible items to remind our children of their faith. Glad you are doing this with your family.
Posted on May 4, 2011 1:02 PM
Joy, what a special Mom you are to celebrate in this way. There is no more important milestone in any life lived! I hope to follow in your footsteps when my son makes his own decision to follow Christ. That will truly be the day I am most proud of him!
Posted on May 4, 2011 9:09 PM