Today's post was written by Lauren Norman.

Let me begin by saying that I do not claim to know all there is to know about baptism. I am just a young woman who has been leaning in close to Jesus to listen to what He wants from my life. That said, I’ll tell my story as to how I was lead to believer's baptism.

I grew up in the church, and like many denominations, my church practiced infant baptism where a family brings their infant before the congregation of believers to be sprinkled with water. I consider it a form of family dedication for the child to be brought up in the church and for the congregation to affirm its responsibility of raising up the child for Christ. I was indeed brought up in this community of faith and went through the process of confirmation in 5^th grade, confirmation meaning that I chose to be a confirmed member of my church. It is a process very similar to becoming a member of The Church at Brook Hills.

Fast-forward to my youth group’s fall retreat of my 7^th grade year, and I can say I truly prayed the prayer for Christ to be my Lord and Savior. Before this, my actions as a Christian were cultural, and while well meaning, did not come from the Holy Spirit alive in me. I finally understood the gospel fully - God created me, a sinner who deserved death, Christ died for me, I repented of my sin, and placed my faith in Him forever. Through high school and college, I continued growing in my faith and prayerfully followed Christ’s plan for my life.

Those plans led me to Birmingham where I found my faith family, The Church at Brook Hills. My fiancé and I went through the new member class, and I was grappling with the baptism aspect. In my mind, I felt that I had never had a time of severe disobedience to Christ, so why did I need to be “re-baptized”? I understood why someone who had not been in church his or her whole life or had a period of frank disobedience to Christ would need to be baptized, but not me. Then again, I had not been baptized as a believer, so did I, in fact, need to be baptized? I agree with Matthew 3:11, “I baptize with water those who turn from their sins and turn to God.” Yes or no?! I wish I just knew! This is the conversation I had in my mind semi-constantly for about three months.

Finally, God got it through to me that I did need to be baptized. My husband and I were out of town for New Year’s, so we decided to listen to David Platt’s sermon titled “Repentance and Resolutions” on podcast during our trip back home. That sermon, combined with God speaking to my heart, made up my mind for me. If you decide to listen to that sermon to find out what I am talking about, you have been warned! It spoke to all of my hesitations about being baptized. My personal pride was predominant, closely followed by anxiety of how my family would react. I vented to my husband for about thirty minutes after the message had ended about why I should or should not be baptized. He patiently listened. Then God put this little question in my heart: "Lauren, if you and Logan are going to bring up your children proclaiming believer's baptism, what is your answer when they ask you 'Mom, when were you baptized?'” Stuck – He got me. My answer is March 18, 2012.

God has proven Himself merciful and faithful. My baptism opened up communication with other women in my small group who were and are having the same conversation in their heart. To my pleasant surprise, my family encouraged my actions. Finally, my pride was checked, and God got all the glory!