Soggy Seats

Soggy Seats

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.

1 Corinthians 13:12

Seated in the church service beside my son’s family, I watched proudly as the baptistery curtains opened. There stood blond-haired, seven-year-old Jack, looking quite angelic in his white baptismal robe. I cried with joy at seeing my firstborn grandson declare his faith.

His four-year-old brother, Will, seated next to me, was proud too, but for different reasons. He wanted to know all about how Jack had gotten up there in that water. His parents had tried to prepare Will for the service, but obviously he had not understood. He did, however, think he would like to get in that water sometime too.

When the baptism was over, Jack came and sat next to me, and my son took Will back to the nursery. At the end of the service, I planned to take their family out to eat to celebrate Jack’s baptism.

As the last song concluded, Jack looked up at me and asked innocently, “Mimi, can I get some dry underwear before we go eat?”

He had not pulled off his wet undies following the baptism. No wonder he had squirmed throughout the whole service!

I told my son about the crisis, and Jack and I headed off in search of “drier ground” while my son went to get Will. Jack was usually with his parents when they picked up Will, so on this day when they arrived without Jack, Will looked at them matter-of-factly and asked, “Jack gone to heaven?”

—Pam Whitley

O God, may I be as trusting as Will when I do not understand your ways. Please help me to see you and your plan for me more clearly as I mature. I want to be perfect in your sight, Lord, and I want to spend eternity with you in heaven. I love you, Lord. Amen.