One more thing...

I also wanted to point out a special detail in AG's baptism story...

The week before the event, she was very anxious about being baptized. As the day approached she became nervous and didn't want to follow through with it. Thomas and I continually prayed for her, and AG was still nervous about it.

As I thought about how to calm my daughter's fears, I remembered the day we dedicated her at our church in Sumter. Our pastor, Pastor Clay, had written a letter for Anna Grace to read on the day she was saved. As I thought about the letter (which we hadn't read yet), I thought it surely would talk about following thru in obedience with baptism. So, I pulled the letter out of AG's memory box and told her to sit down with me, so we could read this special letter together.

Here is what it said...
December 5, 2004 (Kayne's 29th birthday)

Dear Anna Grace,

Today something very special happened in our church, Thomas and Kayne, your parents, brought you before the church family and made a promise to you to teach you about the things of God. The church family, in turn, made a promise to do all that they could do to help you grow in your personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Your parents made promises to be Christ-like as they parent you, to encourage you in your faith, and to bring you to church. The church made a promise that they would always be understanding of you and that they would do their very best to show you the love of God through Jesus Christ. They promised to teach you and to pray for you.

Today you are very young. You will not remember all of the special things that were said or the prayers that were offered. By the time you read this, however, you will already know that your parents love you very much. Many tomorrows will have become yesterdays and you now have made a very important decision for yourself. Even though Thomas and Kayne were the ones who brought you to be dedicated today, you and you alone were the one who made the decision to give your life to Jesus Christ. Now that you have accepted Christ as your Savior, the prayers that were said on your behalf on December 5, 2004, have been answered. The fact that you are reading this letter means that you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and you're now going to follow Him the rest of your life, beginning with baptism.

Today was a very special day in your life, Anna Grace. Because of your decision you made to accept Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior, all of the tomorrows through eternity will be special to you. Our prayer as your church and my prayer as your minister is that God will lead you every day of your life.

God's Grace be with you,

W. Clay Smith
Pastor

It brings me to tears to read this. Such a sweet and special letter marking such a sweet and momentous occasion. After I finished reading the letter, AG replied, "OK, Mommy, I will be baptized." And of course, the rest of the story is in the next post with pictures of the baptism.

Such a sweet and special day that we will remember forever. We looked on the calendar for this year and December 5 is on a Sunday again...6 years later. We plan to have baby T dedicated on this special day too. Not only my 35th birthday, but the day Thomas and I will stand before God and the church, and pledge to raise T in a Christian home too. What a special day that will be!

Our Family on the day AG was dedicated at our church in Sumter. December 5, 2004
She was 7 months old.


My parents with AG on the day she was dedicated.


Thomas's family with AG on the day she was dedicated.