Baptism

Today I jumped in the pond on my property for the second evening in a row. My mother had a dock put in, so I dove off of the dock and then swam around to the rocks and climbed out. It is cold, and I might be more adventurous with staying in for a bit of a swim if there weren’t so many bugs going around. As I dive under the surface of the very full waters, I lose myself completely. I am submerged in the cool depths, and before I surface, there is this feeling of being completely free. I left Emily, Moon, back there, above the surface, and under here, I am unknowable and completely new. As I emerge, and the reality of the cold reaches my reasonable mind, I hurry towards the shore. I climb out and stand on the large rocks, watching the sun sink low on the horizon; I am baptized, I am reborn.

I attended service at the Episcopal church today, and I am not even sure that “service" is the correct word. I have been attending a christian service on and off fairly regularly for roughly eight years, was baptized in the Puget Sound with Christ the King back in 2014, and have now found a new home that I am very comfortable in and excited about at Grace Church, the local Episcopal mission. Though I am familiar with the prayers, (the Our Father, the Nicene Creed) from childhood, there is still very much that I have to learn about the church. I have decided to attend a confirmation group before church, that I will begin going to next Sunday. That is if I am able to fight the drowsiness and fatigue symptoms that are so strong in the morning. Today, being Spring Forward, I fought off this drugged feeling at church and felt somewhat debilitated by the side effects. The two cups of coffee I had before I left did not seem to help. I have every intention to make this conformation class next Sunday, but I will allow myself grace if it seems impossible. 

I came home and changed, washed my bedding, and folded some clothes. I laid down with the prayer book and I read the homework for next week, which was all about the ceremony and prayers regarding baptism. This brings me back to my swim in the pond. I have decided to make a general goal of diving into the pond, and doing a ceremonial baptism and swim every day until the cold fall and winter months set in and it is no longer just cold, but turns freezing. I prided myself in a New Years day polar bear swim this year, but I feel that is enough for me in the winter. I am not from the North Sea nor do I have Viking blood (that I know of), so I must draw the line somewhere.

Baptism seems to be the theme of my day. Whether it is in a formal ceremonial sense with a priest and oils, or the raw naked swim in cold water. Either way, I feel close to Christ, and I have been on a path for a while of giving way of my will for god’s will. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. I feel connected and rooted to the spirituality today of both the earth and of heaven. God is in both.