It’s a sight that few who were there could forget: the radiant Irish grandmother in her wheelchair twined with roses, the three proud young men standing tall beside her, and round them, dozens of singing, suntanned children holding flowers. Only the day before, 80-year-old "Grandma" Mary and the three men had asked our church community if they could be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins in order to commit their lives to Jesus. Now here we were, a crowd of 300, gathered to witness their baptism and rejoice with them.

And there was no question; it was a moment to rejoice. I first met Grandma (everyone calls her that) when I left home at 19. I was homesick, rebellious, desperately unhappy and not at all sure what to think of the sparkly little lady I’d been asked by the community to care for. But she soon taught me that a sense of humor and the ability to laugh even in the hardest moments of life was essential. Grandma had been raised in a notorious Irish convent where abuse and neglect were rife and even when she married and raised her own family, she lived in squalid conditions trapped in poverty. Her granddaughter once told me that the only time she ever visited her grandmother as a child, she came out of the house and burst into tears at the misery and filth of the neighborhood. Grandma was brought to England, to the community where I live, by her daughter several years ago and is a beloved addition.

Grandma is rather unconventional not only in her love of bright clothes, pets and stuffed toys, but also in the wisecracks she constantly showers on her carergivers and friends. "Sister," she’ll chuckle gleefully, "I’m gonna knock you out!" Even at the solemn moment of her baptism, she could hardly restrain herself. When it was mentioned in the service that it was wonderful to have three young men and an old lady being baptized together, she whispered loudly "I’m not old!" The day before she had kidded her son-in-law, "I’m ready to give anything up, but I’m not giving you my teddy bears!"

Yet a deep faith in Jesus underlies her constant jesting, and I believe that laughter and joy are an intrinsic part of that. So, although to some it may have seemed slightly out of character for Grandma to request "baptism in the name of Jesus forever and ever, amen" I knew that for her, it was merely a confirmation of something that had carried her through the many years of darkness.

That’s why on that July afternoon on a hayfield in Kent, as I sat and watched the outdoor service take place my heart sang. And I realized that it’s really true—in God’s eyes, the things I place so much emphasis on don’t matter at all. To God, the old lady beaten down by the world’s sin and suffering was just as precious and useful as the strong young men standing next to her. And you know, as she sat there with roses around her, her grey hair dripping wet, newly baptized, she really didn’t look old—but bright and cheerful as a little child; she had been given a chance to live again.

 

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Dear Plough Staff,

Thank you so much for sharing these baptism stories. Honestly....we find them thrilling and exciting!

Your brother and sister in Ohio...
Michael and Wanda Harris family