Hope

Jason and I read an article today about people who are now "un-doing" their baptisms by holding a "de-baptism" ceremony. No seriously. I'm not joking. It gets better. The ceremony consists of a "priest" using a hair dryer to dry the person being "de-baptized", and then this person receives a certificate stating that he/she is officially "un-baptized". Again, not joking. You can read the article on Baptist Today if you want. Apparently, some people who are now atheists were baptized at some point when they were younger, and now want to totally undo that. They are even sending their "de-baptism" certificates to their former churches, and asking to be completely removed from the "baptized list". This "de-baptism" movement is apparently really picking up speed--it's becoming quite popular on high school and college campuses. Wow.

I truly do not feel judgement, mockery, or disdain for those who are "de-baptizing". I'm sure some Christians might feel those things towards those who are doing this--I honestly just feel overwhelmed with sadness for them. I cannot imagine going through these past 2 months without my faith in Christ. I have said to Jason over and over, "What do people who are not believers do when they are confronted with these sorts of circumstances?" I honestly don't know the answer to that question.

I told a friend the other day that I realized several days after Camille was born that nothing could "fix" this situation. Most situations are fixable. But I think part of my despair in this situation is that I could do nothing; Jason could do nothing; my parents could do nothing; the doctors could do nothing to "fix" this. There wasn't enough money in the world that would "fix" this. There wasn't some VIP who I could call up who could "fix" this. The only One who could "fix" this situation was God.

I don't say that flippantly. I do completely and totally hold out hope that God can and will completely "fix" this situation the way I so desperately want it to be fixed, and give us the miracle we are praying for everyday. And I am going to continue to hope for that because I know that my God is a healer, and He works miracles everyday. I truly do believe that. And I ask that those of you who are reading this will continue to hope for that as well. But even if God does not "fix" this situation in that way, I know He will redeem it. In the end, it will be good.

We have seen this already in our lives recently. As most of you know, Jason has been applying for a full-time academic teaching job at various universities for the past 2 years. He has gotten close to being hired for several positions, but in the end, none have worked out for various reasons. We have often really questioned God in this, and wondered why all of these doors were closing. Actually, we often felt like the doors were getting slammed in our faces. But, we also held onto our faith that God had not failed us; He had not left us; He had not forgotten about us. Some days we had to convince ourselves of that a little more than others. But it was certainly true. This past week, Jason was hired to be the Associate Director of the Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor. This position is such a great fit in many ways. It is a nice combination of the things that Jason is interested in and good at--administration, academics, ministry. It also allows us to stay in Waco for a while so that we can remain in our house that we love, and more importantly, remain close to our families.

Looking back, we now see that God was simply saying, "Not yet" on those other positions. None of those were right; He had something better planned. And I know He is saying the same thing in this situation. I picture Him saying, "Wait. In the end, there will be something better than you could have ever imagined. And it will be good. In fact, it will be perfect."