For a 3-month period between March 29 and July 1, 2008, I gave up on blogging. Not permanently, of course. But other activities and obligations piled on one after another, ceaselessly demanding my attention. Something had to give. My muse, rejecting the argument that sleep is an overrated luxury, finally rebelled; I cracked and took a prolonged blogging break.

I present this fact as the most pitiful of excuses to explain why I failed to document here a very significant event that took place during this time. On Sunday, May 4, 2008, our daughter Maia was baptized.

It’s a decision she had been talking about for a while, and we gently encouraged her whenever she brought it up, always letting her lead the discussion, fearful of pushing her into a decision that was not truly her own. But we knew it was only a matter of time, since the signs of her uninhibited faith had been growing steadily. I submit as partial evidence Exhibit A and Exhibit B. And those are but two examples in a long list. There are many more like them.

Sometimes I find post-it notes stuck in odd places around the house, such as inside the door of the linen closet, with messages like “I love Jesus” proclaimed in Maia’s youthful handwriting. In school (public school, no less), she openly shares her faith with her friends. Once, in an exercise related to a story the class had read, her teacher asked each student what three items they would take with them if stranded in the desert. Maia’s first response was her Bible. It wasn’t the second or the third thing she named. It was at the top of the list. She also begs to be the one to pray at every meal, especially when we are in the company of others, and often astounds me with the insight and depth of those prayers. More than once I have wondered how words so perfect for the occasion can come out of the mouth of a nine-year-old.

And so it was that she came to the decision that 2008 would be the year. Initially she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and be baptized on her birthday, which falls on a Sunday this year. But October was too far away, and she didn’t think she wanted to wait that long. Then she started thinking maybe in the summer, until she learned that “Bring a Friend” Sunday was coming up soon. She knew immediately that would be the day, with her baptism as a wonderful witness to the expected visitors. A meeting with our preacher confirmed what we already knew—that Maia was making her decision for the right reasons, and she was ready.

When the day arrived, she never wavered. Maia repeated the confession of faith with confidence and maturity, in front of a congregation that has been her church family since birth. Kent declined the opportunity to perform the baptism himself, fearing he would be too emotional. So we watched together, moved beyond reason as a faithful little soul accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior.