Subject Title: BAPTISM! (May 26, 2005)
Praise the Lord! I'm finally able to get baptised by water and become a full member of the church!
It has been a long-time prayer to be able to get baptised and publicly proclaim the Lordship of my Jesus in this very significant act. Coming from a traditionally Chinese family, Christianity has always been seen as a foreign/western religion. Also, the "point of no return" to my family members is not when Jesus is received as Lord in the heart, but water baptism. It symbolises that you have completely given your life over to this religion and you cannot change your mind about it any more.
I have been asking my parents for permission to go through with baptism but their reply has always been "no". To them, as long as I was living with them, I was under their care and they do not want me to "confirm" my decision about Christianity yet, due to well-meaning reasons like in case your future husband is not of the same faith and there's no way for you to turn back...etc.... So their decision for me is that I can get baptised only after I get married, then I can make whatever decisions on my own.
So i waited for about 5 years (almost resigned to the fact that I will only get baptised after I get married)... Finally this year in 2005, i felt the Lord challenge me to ask my parents again. So after much prayer for courage and favor, i took that step of faith and asked them on Chinese New Year - when my dad was back from Indonesia. To my surprise, both my parents had not objection to my request and simply say "oh, ok. Up to you. As long as you are clear about what you are doing."
I thank God indeed for His presence and faithfulness. And I thank Him also for helping me to be patient and learning to honor my parents in waiting for their permission, even though I could have gone ahead without their approval.
Truely the Lord is faithful, and His mercies endures forever! Thank you for your prayers my brothers and sisters.
