I made the choice... Baptism

Firstly, HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY to all mothers out there! Thank you for being so amazing in all that you do! :) I truly thank my Mom for bringing me up in the ways of the Lord and being the 'compass' that helps me find my way back to God...

This is a rather delayed post... April 13th 2014 is definitely a date to remember! Well, it is best described as my second birthday! Yes, I finally got baptised on that day!

I accepted Christ on May 30th 2001 at the carpark of my Grandma's house. My mom guided me in the prayer.

 I was quite reluctant to get baptised as I didn't really see a point in it. I mean, hey, I accepted Jesus into my heart already... That's the most important thing right? [If you have 7 minutes to spare, check out this video by Pastor Francis Chan titled the Simple truth about Baptism. Wish I saw this video much earlier!!!]

I was so very wrong!!! I realised I had a 'selfish' mindset. I only wanted to do things that were convenient for me... I am so glad that Mom prompted me to consider baptism! I mean, I was quite skeptical about it so I prayed and to a certain extent, 'challenged' God. Yes, I am pretty stubborn.... I told God if He really wanted me to get baptised, give me a sign or just speak to me about it. God works really fast I tell you... In the next few days or so, my Christian mentor shared with me in great detail the testimony of His friend finally getting baptised and the joy he experienced after baptism. When I heard about it, I was overwhelmed with emotions. That was the God-given sign! When I got back to Singapore, I spoke to my pastor about baptism. And after 8 weeks of baptism class, I was finally baptised!

One of our homework for baptism class was to write our personal testimony...
So I'm gonna share mine with you!

I was born into a Christian family and like everyone else in church; I started attending church at a really young age. Just like the saying goes “ Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in McDonald's makes you a burger.” I was basically going to church because my parents dragged me there.

I remember my first encounter with the Holy Spirit was when I was in Kindergarten. Our teacher told us the crucifixion story of Jesus and I started bawling my eyes out when my mom picked me up from school. I could not understand why anyone would put a good man to die.

It was not until 2001, when I was 6 years old that I accepted Jesus into my heart. I don’t think I truly understood what it meant to be a Christian at that age and I found myself going back to my old ways with school taking priority in my life instead of God. Looking back, I seemed to have distanced myself away from God though He never once left me.

The wake up call happened in 2011. God is gracious in the method he used to draw me back to Him.

Since birth, I have had a history of asthma and eczema. In April 2011, I started taking traditional Chinese medicine hoping to find a cure for my skin condition. During my first few weeks of treatment, I faithfully drank the bitter brew. There were signs showing that my skin condition was improving. However, in May, I started developing a fever. My parents thought that it was nothing serious as I always experienced many episodes of fever that lasted no more than 7 days.

But, this episode of fever was different. It was consistently high and it lasted more than 7 days. Into the 10 days of my fever, I started developing red spots on my hands & legs. Even a slight laughter could cause sharp pain to my abdomen. My parents were worried & after seeking advice from my family doctor they admitted me into the hospital. As soon as I was warded, the senior consultants came to examine me and after much deliberation they called for the liver specialist as my liver was enlarged. My case was unique. I was down with DRESS syndrome or in easier terms, an allergic reaction to Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Honestly, I did not know the seriousness of my condition until I was discharged from the hospital. When the liver specialist told me that if I had not been admitted in time, I would have had to go through a liver transplant.

I really thank God for being gracious by preserving & extending my life and by giving the doctors wisdom to identify and treat my liver in the nick of time. I would like to end with this verse, which brought great comfort to my family during my stay in the hospital. We discovered this verse on the back cover of a prayer book given to me before I was admitted into hospital.

Psalms 66:19

“Certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.”

Coincidentally, I was warded in ward 66, bed 19.

This life changing experience was a step in bringing me closer to God. God is so real! He could have easily taken my life away from me but He didn’t. I live today to be a testimony for Him.

There have been ups and downs during this journey of faith but I believe this makes Christian life so dynamic. I am still learning more about God each day through prayer and quiet time, It is my prayer that God will use me to be a blessing to others.

I just wanna thank everyone who has supported me and encouraged me in this journey of faith! Thank you to my friends who supported my baptism by attending it physically or in spirit. :) Thank You God for using my unaccomplished and broken life, I believe You can do wonders with it! 

God's love & blessings~

Xoxo

Marissa