REMINDER: Give them the letter.
Years ago when I was moving out of my parent’s house in Dallas, I was going through a box in my closet when I discovered a mysterious letter addressed to me but never opened. I immediately went to my mother to ask her what she knew about it, and she said “Oh yes! That letter is from the priest who baptized you. He gave it to me that day and asked me to give it to you when you were 12, but I guess I forgot.”
I went back to my room and carefully opened it, amazed by the words that spilled out. He told me about that moment, pouring the water over my head as he held my infant body, the presence of God claiming my life, the love of God abounding for me and that God would be faithful to me all my life. By the time I read it at 23, I knew it was true.
For that reason, I have written a letter to every child I have ever baptized dating back to 1992. Obviously, Presbyterian theology is quite different from what that priest wrote to me, but my letter echoes some of the same sentiments – God’s enduring love and faithfulness, the uniqueness of the moment, the joy of holding them even in their infancy. I treasure every single one. I often say baptisms are the best part of my job.
For all those reasons, I confess my own sadness at how few parents ever tell me that their child read the letter. I get it. Like my mother, parents get busy. It gets put in a drawer or a box, only discovered years later. So, here’s my ask: try to remember where you put that letter if I baptized your child, and regardless of how old they may be, give it to them. I think those sorts of things matter, and perhaps, my letter to your child will impact them in the same way my priest’s letter impacted me – a confirmation of God’s enduring love and faithfulness. And maybe, tell me about it, too!
Blessings and thanks,
Dr. S
Don’t miss our Baptism Renewal services on Sunday, 01.21.24, at 9 or 11:15am. Coming forward and touching the water of the font is a testimony-in-gesture that our faith is rooted in the living water, our Lord Jesus Christ. The signs and sounds of that gesture speak profoundly of the renewal we have in Christ Jesus.
For more information about Baptism at First Pres, please contact Grace Whitlow.