Washed Clean

Not everyone will appreciate or agree with today's post. That's fine. I don't ask anyone to change their beliefs, I just ask that you appreciate that it's kind of significant for me...

I got baptized today. Yeah, that's right, I'm a Christian... I voluntarily drank the kool-aid that is Christianity. I get that many of you don't share my faith in God... at least not the Christian God. That's okay. I'm not going to try to convert anyone, and I'm not going to get preachy. I'm merely going to share my story.

I was raised Southern Baptist, complete with the fire and brimstone, and the belief that if you don't follow the Bible lock, stock and barrel that you were condemned to an eternity in hell. The church of my youth tried to scare me into worshiping God. They failed miserably. Instead of scaring me toward God, they drove me away. There was no way I could love, respect and worship such an angry, vengeful god.

Time went by, and I reconnected with God. I realized that the Southern Baptist god was only a small portion of what God truly is. And God was more than happy to meet me on my terms, revealing himself to me slowly, as I was ready to accept who He is... accepting that I would lean on Him when times were bad, and return to my life when the hard times passed.

This pattern went on for about twenty years, but somehow I knew that the status quo wouldn't work indefinitely. In the back of my head I knew that all worthwhile relationships require work, and that my relationship with God was no different. Somewhere along the line, I realized that it was time to shit or get off the pot.

I won't go into how I know God exists... suffice it to say that I believe, and that's enough for me. After all, my experience won't convert anyone else. Besides, I promised that I wouldn't preach here. With that said though, I came to realize that now is the time for me to work on my relationship with God. Getting baptized was the best way for me to demonstrate -- to God and to myself -- that I'm ready and willing to work on the relationship.

This wasn't a conversion experience. I'm still the same guy I was yesterday... the same guy I was last year. I'm not going to instantly disavow my non-Christian friends, and I have no plans of turning into an instant evangelist. If you don't believe, that's okay. I don't expect you to suddenly change your beliefs because I got baptized. I do, however, hope that you're at least able to recognize this milestone in my life and wish me well accordingly.