Bathtub Baptism

I walked by the bathroom this morning with laundry in my arms and overheard a conversation going on between my two middle girls, who were in the tub.

"Emily, do you want to get baptized?"

I paused to hear her response.

Not surprisingly, there was a hesitation from my five year-old. Finally, she agreed and I positioned myself to be on alert for what would happen next. I had a "front row seat" through the crack of the door.

Molly continued, "You need to be baptized and if you don't want to do it at church, you can do it here. The water is MUCH deeper at church, so do you want to?" I stifled my laughter while positioning myself for a rescue.

Oliver came to my side, whining about something and just as I turned to him, I heard coughing and sputtering. I peeked back through the crack to see Emily wiping her dripping face, hair soaked with water. Molly was saying something about what a great job she did and Emily was still wiping but nodding. The two of them took turns dunking their heads and talked about practicing being baptized and how this would also teach them to be good swimmers. As many times as I had told them not to drink or put heads under dirty bath water, I couldn't help but leave them this time. The moment was priceless.

A while later, they emerged from the tub, wrapped in towels and excitedly chattering on to me about what had just taken place. Molly was mentioning the washing away of sins but that they didn't really do that--it was just practice. I smiled and asked them some more questions to see if they understood what baptism means. We had talked about it before and it amazed me what Molly, in particular, had retained. I love that they're applying what they learn at home and at church in their play.

I love the scripture in Deuteronomy 6:5-9 that says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates." This is how we know the Father better; we practice his commandments.