My 85th Birthday, Baptism,
and Celebration

This is a story of how being baptized on my 85th birthday changed my life and drew me nearer to my family, my friends, and my Lord.

Previously published by Barbara Brabec as a blog post in March 2022,
now expanded with photos, additional baptism content,
a brief excerpt from Barbara's Testimony for Christ.
and selected reader mail.

Do you believe in Godwinks? A Godwink is an event or personal experience, often identified as coincidence, so astonishing that it is seen as a sign of divine intervention, especially when perceived as the answer to a prayer. To me, it’s also evidence of how God works in our lives. As Romans 8:28 confirms, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

I’ve shared my faith in articles in the Christian Encouragement archives but haven’t yet written about the important topic of baptism. I was born again in December 1994, and for most of my life I thought I’d been baptized as a baby. It was only while studying my mother’s writings as I was writing my memoir about her that I learned my sisters and I had never been baptized as babies, something I’d always assumed but somehow never thought about discussing with Mother (a long family story that didn’t make it into my memoir).

For a long time I believed that being baptized that way was sufficient. But the person being baptized must profess their faith publicly, which of course babies can’t do.

As Jesus says in John 3:5, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”

Things Change

I was finally baptized by sprinkling in 2015 when I joined Knox Presbyterian Church. But I left that church in 2020 when they decided to start marrying same-sex couples. I began to search for a new church but couldn’t find one that was right for me until last June, when God miraculously led me to Cross of Christ Fellowship Baptist church five minutes from my door. (That amazing Godwink story is here.)

A few Sundays later, I knew I was exactly where God wanted me to be. By year’s end, I told the pastor I wanted to join the church and be baptized by immersion. Three drops of water on my head wasn’t the kind of baptism my soul needed now.

My church doesn’t have a baptistery, but Pastor Tom found another church that could be rented. With an available date in hand, he asked me and Caly—the college student who was also joining the church and being baptized—if March 5 would work for us. He was amazed to learn this would be my 85th birthday—a Godwink for sure!

As my friend Rita said, “How wonderful that you’re going to be spiritually reborn on your physical birth day, and on such a landmark day in your life!”

I have two younger sisters in California. Mollie was with me when I was baptized at Knox but couldn’t come this time because she was recovering from knee-joint replacement surgery. So I was elated when sister Mary said she was flying in a few days before my birthday.

We spent one morning reminiscing as we looked through a collection of letters, photos, notebooks, and other family memorabilia, all the while remembering how blessed our family has always been. We spoke with Mollie on the phone several times over the weekend to include her in our activities.

See me above in my kitchen, whiffing air scented with White Chocolate Raspberry from the birthday cake Mollie sent me as a surprise. Below,  Mary and I in the congregation before the church service began, our joy evident.

Baptism Service and “My Big Plunge”

The church’s service was very special to me. Before being baptized, Caly and I gave a short testimony for how we’d come to faith and how being born anew had changed our lives. My baptism was unusual, given my bad balance, age, and girth. I’ll leave the details to your imagination, but suffice it to say that with my weight being what it is, it took two men in the water with me to lay me back underwater and then pull me back up. I went down with a big splash and came up with a joyful shout, raising my hands heavenward in thanks to God for all I’ve been given.

After sharing news of this upcoming event, I received many calls, cards, and congratulatory emails. Over the weekend, I spent joyful hours with people I loved and felt uplifted and renewed in many ways. I’m closing with the card that came with a bouquet from Linda Lewis, an author God put in my life a few years ago. Linda said she had fun playing with all the B’s related to this event. But limited in the number of characters allowed for the message, she was forced to edit for space. Below is what I consider a work of writing/editing art—and a reminder that we need to be bold in sharing our faith and the Gospel with others:

BARBARA-Bask in a Bouquet of Blooms-Be Blessed on your Beautiful 85th B-DAY & Blissful Baptism-Don’t be Bashful-tell your Brethren about Being Born again-Be Brave! Sharing beliefs Because of the Bible. Benediction, then Behave at the Banquet-BRAVO! Love, Linda

(The original blog post ended here.)

 

 

 

 

 

Prior to being baptized, Pastor Tom asked me three questions:

1. Are you trusting in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins and for the fulfillment of all His promises to you, even eternal life? (“I am.”)

2. Do you renounce Satan in all his works and all his ways? (“I do.”)

3. And do you intend, with God's help, to obey Jesus’ teachings and to follow Him as your Lord? (“I do.”)

After coming out of the water and taking a moment to wipe my eyes, I raised my hands heavenward in praise to God for bringing me to this special moment in my walk with Christ. The enthusiastic round of applause with encouraging “hoots and hollers” made this one of the most memorable events of my life.

NOTE: “The waters of baptism do not save or contribute to a person's salvation. But Jesus calls those who are saved by faith through grace to be baptized. Baptism is a public profession of one's faith in Christ and a church's recognition of an individual's faith.” – Pastor Tom Schmidt

Sharing the Gospel

(Excerpt from Barbara’s short testimony at the service,
given just before being baptized.)

After I was born again in November, 1994, my life changed dramatically.

Throughout the first four years of my walk with Christ, I had a great hunger to read the Bible and bought many Christian books and tapes. I began to journal the daily lessons I was learning as a new Christian and wrote my first short testimonial, quickly becoming an evangelist. I still do this kind of Bible study and writing today, but now I’m offering my detailed testimonial on my website as a PDF download

Until I was born again, I didn’t know I could have a personal relationship with Jesus. I also didn’t understand that Jesus died on the cross carrying the weight of all the sins of mankind on his shoulders. And when He said, “It is finished,” He meant that He had fulfilled his mission by dying for our sins and suffering the pains of hell so we would never have to experience them ourselves.

One of the pastors on the radio finally made it all fall into place for me when he explained that it was like bookkeeping:

Christ’s death on the cross paid for all our sins, and when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, our sins are debited to Him, and his righteousness is credited to our account. And it is His righteousness—not ours—that will get us into heaven.

I know that God allows challenges and hardships in my life—and your life too—for good reasons. As Romans 8:28 confirms, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

God doesn’t want us to worry about anything, asking only that we love Him, trust Him, and wait to see how He will work in our life. I can’t believe all the wondrous things God has done for me, all the small miracles I’ve had—even before I came to faith. Whatever may come in the years I have left, my faith will see me through because I believe the Bible’s teaching, and especially God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11:

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

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May God bless you for reading this. Please share the link to it with others who need to hear this message.

Reader Mail: 

I lost a few subscribers after publishing this post, but I considered it “cleaning my mailing list.” The affirmative responses, especially the first three below, more than balanced the scale and were a great encouragement to me:

Joe B: “I loved reading this story about your 85th and something very near and dear to my heart … the Baptism. It was 59 years ago for me, but I recall the joy as well as the spiritual heartache that I felt trying to walk down that aisle to our preacher. To this day, I don't know how I made it, with Niagara Falls streaming from my eyes.”

Ella: “I’m a long-term follower (I go way back to your printed snail mail newsletters) and am still an avid fan/follower all these years. I will continue to follow you as before but even MORE so now that your writings have a Christian theme. We should NEVER be afraid to discuss God and to bear witness to all HE has done and is still doing, in our lives. You may lose some followers, Ms. Barbara, but you will still thrive in God's Kingdom and that is what matters most.”

"Rita W: “Continue to share your faith and testimony freely and boldly, without concern that you might lose some subscribers. Even if a person only reads a little before unsubscribing, the Holy Spirit can do amazing things with that little seed you planted, bringing those words back to a person’s mind and then bringing others along the way to water the seed you planted. But if you hesitate to share, or only share with other believers, then there is no seed to plant and grow in someone who doesn’t yet know Jesus.”

Sylvia H. “I hardly know where to start to acknowledge your beautiful testimony, your account of your Baptism … surely a rebirth… and birthday celebrations, and Linda Lewis’ ‘B’ poetry. All in all a ‘B’eautiful day in every way which will live long in memory. I’m just so happy for you!”

Patricia D. “Congratulations on your landmark birthday. I will have my 85th landmark birthday on March 5, 2023. My children began celebrating landmark birthdays for me every five years beginning at age 65. Have thoroughly enjoyed each surprise. Your celebration sounds amazing and I am glad you enjoyed it so much! You truly are blessed. And yes, I do believe in Godwinks.”

George G. “Long ago a friend told me that a key difference between those who succeed at life and those who don’t is that the successful ones see opportunities and signs (Godwinks) and act on them when others do not.”

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