Baptism

I have for several years wanted to take this next step of faith, but there was always something that came up instead. This year, several months back, I met with Pastor Trent and told him I wanted him to baptize me. I wasn't going to wait anymore, who has time for waiting in this life. God clearly said, Joanna it's time to publicly share your trust and belief in me. So thats just what I did. This is what I shared, a small summary of my testimony and some pics from the day. It was the best way to celebrate my one year cancer birthday. I was nervous to speak in front of hundreds, but was excited to finally do it. Tara and Andy were here, all the way from Phoenix, and our church family and closest friends. Thank you for coming to support me, I felt again loved and carried.

I was one of 6 kids raised in a christian home to God loving parents. I was involved in church as far back as I can remember. I was part of the youth group, Sunday school, teaching classes and VBS, missions trips, as a family we were involved in as much as we could be. I knew how to walk the walk and talk the talk, but I never had the personal relationship of knowing christ. I rebelled against what I knew was right and filled my life with idols of boyfriends, sports, and everything but Jesus Christ. 

15 years ago I showed up on this campus right here to play lacrosse and field hockey in college. I was starting to see something everyone had that I desperately needed. My sophomore year things started to change. I was injured, my roommate and best friend tried to end her life, my social life was empty and consumed with sports, I was a thousand miles from home, I was lost as far as I knew and realized, I was lonely. I sat in my dorm room one night late into the morning and felt the presence of Christ for the first time ever. I realized that with him I could do this life and would never be alone. I proclaimed that I was ready to do life with him and for him and wasn't sure why on earth I had right then finally figured it out. That is where my life story took a turn towards living a life committed to walking with Jesus. It wasn't always easy, I had relationships that needed healing, I endured 4 knee surgeries through the rest of my athletic career here, but through those things l also started to understand more of the nature of who my God was. I was being cared for by him and knew it.  

After graduating I married the best guy ever and over the 10 years following was blessed with four beautiful chilren. I was coaching here at Messiah, we were involved here at church, and life was really good. There were things along the way that were really difficult too, like my dads diagnosis to stage 4 cancer, and now looking back, though seemingly devastating, I believe God was preparing me for so much of my story that was to come. Like he always is every step of our path. 

Then hard came. Sudden, life was awesome one day, and everything I knew and though changed in a phone call. It was my cancer diagnosis one year ago this month. Stage 3 malignant melanoma. I went through surgeries and 8 months of treatment before I had to stop. And I face ahead a lifetime ahead of hard and unknown. This past year my eyes have been opened, in so many ways. I have come to understand grace and how to give it, I've come to understand true Joy and how to rejoice in each day and be glad in it. I am learning a discipline of thankfulness in all things because this is his story written for me. I have learned to open my eyes to see his fingerprints woven through every event and in every day of my life. I am learning to better submit to his plans instead of my own. I have faced suffering and life change that without a dependence on my relationship with Christ I would be lost. Most important I understand what it means to have hope, in Christ, his perfection, his glory, and his perfect plan. And with hope to expect to see him work together all things for his good. 

I am choosing to be baptized today because I believe God called me to do this next in my life. I want to claim his goodness and unchanging love, that he is the same in the blessings of life and the same in the suffering. That he is the same yesterday, today, and will be tomorrow. I believe he loves me, he died for me, he rose for me, and that in eternity I will praise his name. I want everyone to know that this life is so temporary, and not to waste anymore time trying to figure it all out and have every question answered. I've had a realization, from my story through Gods faithfulness that everything in this life pales in comparison to truly knowing him.  

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 cor 12:9

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self[a] is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 cor 4:16-18