I was raised in a Christian family that was very supportive of my faith. I grew up on veggie tales and “What’s in the Bible” and went to Ontario Pioneer camp every year. Each summer I went, I would feel so much closer to God, and I know that the encouraging environment, as well as the people I would meet there who shared my faith really shaped me as a Christian. I also grew up very involved in my church, here, at Cornerstone. My mom worked full-time as the children’s ministry director, and my dad played in the band for worship. I volunteered some Sundays, came to youth group on Fridays, and helped out whenever I could. I felt pretty secure in my faith, but nowhere near ready to get baptized.

I had always thought that baptism was for Christians who were “ready”. Ready to me kind of meant checking all the boxes of being a good Christian, praying every morning and night, reading the bible every day, and basically never sinning. While these are all good and important things in your relationship with God, they are entirely unrealistic because we are all imperfect, and sin is in our nature as humans. So, back in April, I realized this and began considering baptism. I loved God with all my heart, understood that he loves me so much in return, even though I am undeserving of it, and I wanted to commit my life to serving him. After some conflicting events that led me to reconsider being baptized in June, I firmly believed that it was time for me to get baptized in September. But, God had other plans for me and my journey.

At the beginning of September, I was diagnosed with pneumonia. For those who aren’t sure what that is, it’s a lung disease that harmed my ability to fully breathe, causing a lack of oxygen intake which made me almost completely useless. I couldn’t really walk, breathe, eat, or even stay awake for long periods of time. I had nothing to do, and too much time on screens wouldn’t help my condition, so I found myself talking to God a lot. I prayed continuously, comfortably filling him in on everything going on in my life, from my thoughts on the latest TV show I had watched, to my trouble with friends that I wasn’t entirely sure were the best fit for me. God listened to me through it all, and I could feel myself growing so much closer to him, and really building my personal relationship. When I became a bit better, I realized that my goal of getting baptized in late September was unrealistic now, as I was still quite weak and my brain was a bit foggy. That was disappointing because I felt like I was letting God down, but after praying for a bit I realized that this was a perfect example of when God’s timing interferes with ours, but ultimately he knows what is best. A verse that helped me see this is Proverbs chapter 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way”.

So after my two failed attempts at getting baptized, I am here today, an imperfect, sinful human, ready to show my commitment to God and take the next step in this journey, because I believe that he is calling me to dedicate my life to him.

And to anyone considering baptism right now, my advice is, do it. You don’t have to be perfect, you don’t need to experience a “God moment”, you don’t have to check all the boxes of being a good Christian. Baptism isn’t the finish line in your journey with God, it’s the start. If you believe in him and want to accept him into your life, do it.

I would like to thank some people who have been prominent in my journey of faith: my parents, who raised me with the knowledge that God loves me so incredibly much, and helped me know him from such an early age, my siblings, for being there to rely on and have fun times with, many of the staff here at cornerstone, specifically Kevin, Bethany, Anastasia, and Scott, for helping me overcome doubts and worries about getting baptized and just for being an example of who I want to grow up to be in my faith, and finally Hannah, my best friend, for showing me the absolute love and grace of God through her.