Johnny's Baptism

Sometimes people will mistakenly say, "This is the greatest day of my life" when referring to something that should clearly not be the greatest day of their life. Maybe they are saying it as a joke or maybe they really mean it, I don't know. When I think of the greatest day of my life, it is hard to choose because there have been so many really great days. Some of which have been significant for me personally, like my baptism, or receiving my endowments in the temple, or entering the MTC as my mission began, or triumphantly returning home with honor from my mission (that's how I saw it anyway). Some days aren't just about me, like the first day I met my wife, Erica, or the day she met me at the temple and we were sealed together for time and all eternity. That was a pretty special day. Since then, most of my great days have all revolved around my kids. I can think of 5 pretty great days off the top of my head, the days that each of my children were born. It was love that I had never experienced before when I held each one of my kids for the first time, and I knew I would do anything for them. It was instantaneous, for me, and it was awesome. All of those days are pretty much tied in my book, because, of course, I'm really keeping score. Last Saturday is another day to add to the pile. Last Saturday, my oldest boy was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I don't know if there has ever been a day where I felt happier or more pleased than I did on Saturday. So much so, that I have had a hard time stopping talking about it. I will talk to anyone about it, who will stop long enough to listen.

It was a special feeling to see Johnny all dressed in white, and to stand there and get my picture taken with him. We had practiced the baptism a few times (all dry runs, I promise), but I still felt butterflies. One thing I may have mentioned is that Johnny is deaf, and uses American Sign Language as his primary mode of communication. One of the first things people ask my wife and I when they learn that is if we knew sign language before our kids were born. The answer is no. We did not know that we were each carriers of the same recessive, mutated gene, and that we could possibly pass that down to each of our kids. No one in our family was deaf, so it caught us totally by surprise. That is a post for another time, but for now, let's just leave it at Johnny relies on ASL. Ever since we discovered that he was deaf and ever since we decided to teach him ASL and learn it ourselves, I wanted to baptize him in ASL. I spent the last little while learning the signs for the prayer, but I was still nervous. I felt like I had it, but I was nervous. Not only was I going to sign it, but for the witnesses' sake, I was going to voice it as well. Both needed to be perfect. Let's just say, as I entered the font, there was an endless string of prayer in my heart, that probably sounded frantic and rushed and all strung together. It was the most sincere prayer I have ever offered.

As I held out my hand and helped Johnny down into the font, I felt calmer. Somehow, I knew I had done enough and that this would work out. I looked down at my son, and his smile was literally running from ear to ear. He had no doubts that his dad was going to pull this off. That gave the extra little bit of confidence I needed. I repeated the prayer in both spoken English and ASL. Then I repeated it again because I messed up on one part because I was trying to think in two languages, but the second time was fine, and then Johnny went under and it was done. That was all really great and spiritual, but for me, the best moment came right after, away from everyone else, as Johnny and I went back into the dressing area, and I brought him in for a hug. We were both wet, him more than me, but it didn't matter. I held him for a while, and unlike usual, he didn't pull away. I think we both felt something special and meaningful as we hugged. We both knew what a special day this was.

After the baptism, my heart started racing again, because next was the confirmation, when I would again be signing and speaking. I focused only on the parts I had to get right, and hoped the rest would come. Most of the prayer was blur for me, but it felt right and good, and I felt like I got through it ok. The most important thing is that Johnny understood it. After the whole day was finished, I was just so happy to be just with my family, sharing this special day.

The greatest day ever probably doesn't exist, because I feel like the Lord has blessed me with several days that could all be greatest days ever. It seems like, just when I think he couldn't bless me any more, he gives me another one of these greatest days and reminds me that he can and wants to bless me and each of us.