Today is the day after Labor Day, and since grandmas deserve to have some time off for the holiday as well, I did not do any research and am not writing a long-winded column about bugs or patriots or any other such thing.
I did, however, get one of those "why don't you write about me anymore" comments from the hubby, so I am going to let everyone in on a significant event in our lives. A few weeks ago, my Steve went forward in church and accepted Christ as his Savior, and last Sunday he was baptized by the Rev. Tommy Carney at the First Christian (Disciples of Christ) Church.
Like many people, most of the people with whom I have always been close as a matter of fact, that event took place in my life at a much earlier age. I was 6 years old when I was moved to go forward during the invitation at the First Christian Church in Roodhouse, Ill. That particular pastor had a policy of not baptizing anyone under the age of 12; however, I kept going forward every couple of weeks or so as the spirit moved me until, when I was 8 years old, he finally baptized me along with his son, who was the same age.
Being called and baptized when you are a child is a whole different thing from being called when you are an adult. It took a lot more for Steve to get up from the safety of that pew and walk down that aisle than it did for me when, at age 6, I simply accepted the fact that Jesus said come, so I went.
This has changed things very subtly at our home. Now, it is not me on Saturday night saying "don't forget we have church tomorrow;" it is Steve saying "I'll be glad to take so-and-so to church with us if he/she wants to go." A welcome change that was a long time coming.
And I would be remiss if I did not mention the approaching 10nth anniversary of another baptism, a baptism of fire, so to speak, for this entire nation. Just as I remember the exact hour and exactly where I was and what I was doing when we heard the announcement President John F. Kennedy had been shot, so I remember the events of Sept. 11, 2001, as if I were sitting here watching it happen all over again. We had not had the television set in the Courier News newsroom very long. As a matter of fact, a couple of us had lobbied pretty hard for quite a while to get that television, and it just so happened it was right above my desk and to the right, mounted on the wall near the ceiling, so the entire newsroom could see it. I was there and had been at my desk for some time, as I usually got there between 6 and 7 each day. Sometime after 7:30, I became aware that Aaron Brown on CNN was talking about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. As I turned to watch, I heard managing editor Andy Weld come in, so I called to him to come and see the drunk pilot who had flown into the World Trade Center. What happened after that was so incomprehensible it stunned most of us to the point where not a lot of work was done for the next hour or so, as all of us were on the phone making contact with friends and family both local and in other places. We just needed the contact; we needed to know those we loved were still there.
Since then, we have become a nation that is a lot less trusting, and a lot safer as a result. It is so sad we have to become wrapped up in seeing the bad in everything in order to keep bad things from happening.
Baptism by water; baptism by fire.
I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. I am always happy to hear from my readers. Please feel free to contact me at the email address listed at the end of this column.
plenbooks@live.com