my baptism speech

This is my baptism speech

Good Morning Church!

I originally wrote War and Peace so this is a substantial edit.

I accepted God in my life in my teens. After that university, marriage, children, hobbies and voluntary work took over.  I still prayed all the time, but told myself I did not do organised religion.

What has God done for me in my life? When my husband left me I prayed to accept what had happened with grace and that I would not be bitter.  God worked in my life and continues to do so, by supporting my own efforts to be there for my 3 children, get work when I was frequently made redundant and keeping our family home.

When the last of my children went to University I went and did Voluntary Services Overseas. The first time I went to Cameroon for a year.  When I came back I began to feel a strong need to attend a church.  Coming here and attending the alpha class helped me to rethink what I wanted for the rest of my life.  I also had the opportunity to do VSO again and went to Sri Lanka for 6 months.  When you work in isolated places abroad, it is not easy to integrate always with local families and I spent a lot of both times alone.  This strengthens you in a very deep way.

Stephen Carvell, who I worked with at South Beds and whose children come to this church, talked with me and wrote to me about God. He was also the only person to send me presents. In Cameroon he sent me a toilet seat and in Sri Lanka, a bible.  Patricia from LCF also wrote to me.   I also had my Alpha book to read.  In my lonely little paradise I acknowledged that my life had been and would be in God’s hands.

Just before Christmas I was sat at the back of the church towards the end of the service dreaming about nothing when this voice clearly said to me in my head, ‘now will you be baptised’. It was so clear I told several people the day after, including Robert and we made a promise, in an Oxford car park of all places, that we would do it together.  This is why I am here.  For the remainder of whatever time is left to me, I am acknowledging publically that I will strive to keep God and his will for me at the centre of my life.