A Day for Hope

Typically, September 11th brings forth memories of sadness, death, fear and terror. Also a day when people remember those who were lost in the senseless tragedy in New York 6 years ago.

Four years ago today, I attended the birth of a sweet little baby girl. Her birth helped me to think of September 11th as a day of happiness. My clients even gave her the middle name "Hope" in honour of what had happened two years earlier on that same day, and looking ahead to new beginnings, new life.

Today, September 11th, 2007 was a very important day in our community. We've lost 2 teachers from our town in the last month. Both lives were remembered today in memorial services (both of which I was unable to attend). Bittersweet ceremonies of remembering the wonderful things these women brought to the lives of others, and grieving the loss that we will all feel now that they are gone. Two women who were too young to die.

But the reason I'm still flying is the other ceremony that I was privileged to be a part of today. One of death, new life and eternal Hope, all in one. My dear friend Kim and her husband Jeff were both baptized together this evening at the Rotary Cove beach in Goderich. Joel and I were privileged to be the ones standing beside them and dunking them in the ceremony. It was something I'd never imagined doing before. So AWESOME!

Kim and I started to get to know each other just last fall. The had many questions about the Bible and about God and they agreed to start meeting with us on a weekly basis to read the Bible together, to share a meal and to talk about what we had read. They both made a decision to make Christ the head of their lives, much to our complete JOY and they both decided to become baptized. We spent the summer studying about our faith, looking into what we believe and studying what baptism as an adult means. Then tonight was the big night.

This morning I had been talking with some girls at church about how unpredictable the weather was today. I told them that I wasn't concerned about a thunderstorm, but I was picturing that at the baptism we would see the clouds parting, the sun peeking through and those rays of sunshine cutting through the darkness that always remind me of the second coming :) I didn't know that all day Kim had also been praying for a rainbow for this evening.

Well, when we left for Goderich at 4:30 it was sunny in Clinton. As we drove towards Goderich we could see the black clouds over the lake. I was getting very nervous. By 5 pm we were heading down the big hill in Goderich towards the main beach and it was the most beautiful sight. Thick, dark clouds, but the sun was peeking through and the rays were just like I had imagined them (I kid you not!!). Here was the view when we reached the beach:

I was just about jumping out of my skin with excitement, but I was also very nervous when I saw this approaching as it got closer to the 5:30 start time for the service:


A few minutes before 5:30 we started to hear the thunder rumbling. Now we were getting a little nervous. We could do the ceremony in the rain, but weren't so sure we wanted to be in Lake Huron during a thunderstorm!! As Tim stood on the beach with Jeff & Kim (and many people from the church, family and friends) asking them the questions about their faith, it was beginning to spit rain. Not to mention the COLD temperatures and some pretty good wind :)


After they answered their questions, Tim, Kim, Jeff, Joel and I headed towards the water, just as we saw a fork of lightning in front of us. We were all joking about it and I threw my hands in the air and said "We're stepping out in faith". It felt awesome. I could feel God in that place.

So we all headed out into the water until we were waist deep. It felt warm when we first stepped in, but got colder as we got up to our waists. Then, with everyone on the beach watching, Pastor Tim said the words "We baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit", and Joel and I supported Jeff as he fell backwards into the water and we pulled him back up. Amazing!! Then it was Kim's turn. The spirit of God was literally palpable in that moment. With the wind, and the waves. I saw Kim close her eyes as Tim spoke and it was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever witnessed.


As we pulled each of them up out of the water one at a time, everyone on the beach clapped and cheered (as did we!!). Sorry, I know the next picture is blurry, but I just love it!


We believe that when Christ was alive, and in the days of the early churches, that people were baptised after they were saved. That the act of baptism was a symbol to others of the commitment that a person had made to God. When the person falls back into the water, this represents dying to their old life, dying to self (meaning putting what God wants before what we may selfishly want), buried with Christ. Then when they come up out of the water it represents being born into a new life. A life of salvation, a life of freedom. It is simply a symbol of what has already taken place in their hearts, but is now for others to witness. It is an incredible thing.

So, after the baptism we all piled into our cars and headed out in a caravan to go to Kim and Jeff's place to celebrate and have dinner. As we began to drive out it started to pour. As Pastor Phil mentioned, it was like God pouring out His love on us (at the perfect time :). Then the sun broke through the clouds and started to shine. We all started looking for a rainbow right away and then it appeared! Not one, but TWO rainbows in the sky (one much more faint above the brighter one, not sure if you can see it in the picture...but there were two).

It was SO COOL!!! A sign of Hope. The sign of God's promise of LOVE to us. I know it wasn't coincidence that all the weather changes this evening happened at the moments they did. As we drove towards Kim and Jeff's, the rainbows were right above their house. It was one of those "love letters from God" at such a perfect time :)

When we got to Kim's I told her how much I liked her rainbow. She had a huge grin on her face as she told me how she had been praying for one all day! She was so thrilled that she had "gotten her miracle...2 rainbows". It was beautiful. Really beautiful.

And in true Mennonite style we finished off the evening with a potluck of amazing food :) We all talked together and got to hear Kim and Jeff's stories of how God had brought them to this place of trust in Him and to their decision to be baptised. It was one of the most amazing evenings of my life.

As we drove home Joel and I talked about how God had shown up in such obvious ways throughout the evening through the weather. It was like a movie where they use the weather as a "character" with a personality to add to the drama of some of the moments in the movie. But in this case, it wasn't faked by movie producers. Those skies were real. Those rays of sun from heaven, the showers, and those rainbows. Amazing. Perfect.

Imagine if it had just been a warm and sunny day :)

Melanie