Baptism

It has taken me over 24 hours to come up with words to describe the wonderful event of having Jacob baptized on Sunday afternoon. The entire experience was emotional, such that I must choke back a few tears as I sit here and write this. Deb and I felt that having him baptized sooner than later was appropriate under the circumstances. When we called our Pastor, he whole-heartedly agreed and we cannot thank him and his family enough for dropping everything that afternoon for us. Keep in mind that this is Sunday, right after a full morning of worship services and Bible study. Add to that the fact that Pastor’s family was at lunch moments before celebrating a milestone birthday, and, well, you get the point. The words “Thank you” are simply not enough.
After a short visit among the adults, we made the trek to the NICU. Due to the extreme precautions, we were a little fuzzy on how the procedure would/could be done. The nurses stepped in and were such a great help.
First, water. We couldn’t simply introduce tap water into his environment. The nurse grabbed us some sterile water.
Second, delivery. We couldn’t touch Jacob. So, we asked for something small like a medicine dropper – perhaps we could make some small drops of the water. The nurse left us, and returned with a second nurse who, watching what we were attempting, had found an actual small seashell. The fact that we could use the very symbol of Baptism itself during this event caused a collective sigh to go through the room.
Following a slightly abbreviated order of Baptism, Pastor expertly navigated the enclosed “incubator” chamber through a small arm hole, held the shell and water over his head with gloved hands, and gently guided three drops onto Jacob’s head. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room (and perhaps in the hallway?) following the ceremony and the prayer afterward. And, the relief of knowing that Jacob’s salvation is locked in, by God’s Grace, was such a lifted burden at that point given the journey we had just been on since Saturday evening.