Published: 23 Aug ’24
Last Updated: 23 Aug ’24
Reading Time: 3-4 minutes
My husband and I got baptized on a Colorado mountain top in Pagosa Springs.
Being baptized together, as husband & wife, may have been an anomaly in and of itself. However, that day I did something peculiar in the eyes of some. What I did would also invoke tears in the eyes of others…
When I stepped out onto the altar, the lingering question on everyone’s faces seemed to be saying,
“Why is she wearing a wedding dress to a Baptism?”
At the time, I didn’t have a definitive answer as to why I would take a perfectly good wedding gown and completely submerge it underwater.
My response at the time was,
“it just feels like the right thing to do” 🤷🏾♀️
Taking a step back in my timeline to one year prior (2019), I had just began reading the Bible. I had not yet finished reading the Old Testament (OT) before deciding to get Baptized. Though, I made a conscious decision not to do so until after I read the Scriptures completely (from Genesis to Revelation & every book in-between). In doing so, a new personal aspiration was formed.
*retracting back to the present story*
Knowing what I now know, I can articulate the unspoken emotions that engulfed me. Hindsight truly is 20/20.
Through my d.i.y. education (a.k.a YouTube College 🤭) of Bible learning at the time, I noticed a running theme between Yah & His people.
***Friends, our Creator is very intentional about the thoughts He thinks towards us even down to how He speaks about us. So, when Yah addresses the mysterious & even supernatural activity of marriage to that of a believer’s relationship with Him, we should consider the concept a noteworthy one***.
Unlike the distorted presumptions found in the minds of many regarding the institution of marriage, there is a deep & pure meaning behind the church representing a Bride. Underneath such imagery lies:
Fidelity, security, spiritual union, devotion, love, forgiveness; overall we can find an exclusive relationship. Oh! And let’s not forget grace. “It is in the unique context of marriage that particular graces can be experienced”.[1]
So, now that the stage was finally set, many verses (Revelation 19:6-9 being of the few) encouraged me to go against normality & do something…extraordinary.
Christ first loved me & died a death I deserved. So, in 2021 I was ready to say, “I do”.
Question: Why did you get baptized in a wedding dress?
*New* Answer: It felt like the right thing to do because…
I was saying “I do” to redemption.
I was saying “I do” to being the Church.
I was saying “I do” to relationship not religion.
I was saying “I do” to being made ready (by the power of the Holy Spirit) for the coming Messiah.
I was saying “I do” to being born again & offering my body as a living sacrifice to the One who knew me before my mama did.
And the dress I wore encourages me to know that my works in Christ represents the radiant beauty of my faith in Him.
Christ loves us so much that He died for us. And in return, He asks that you accept His free invitation into a perfect covenant with Him.
Will you say, “I do”?
*The concept of the church being the bride of Christ is mentioned in various letters found in the New Testament (NT) such as Corinthians, Ephesians, & Revelation.
[1] Elwell, Walter A. 2001. In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: Second Edition, 744. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
