Two of our teenagers were being baptised; the church was full to overflowing (at least three extra rows of chairs were added.) Relatives of the two girls came from as far away as Bristol and America. It was a lovely service with the two youngsters giving a good report of their faith, before the actual ceremony of baptising them. There was plenty of clapping and cheering. A visitor to the church would have known we were very happy about it, as these girls had been nurtured by their families and various sections of the youth work for a number of years. We all felt we had a small part in them being where they were on that Sunday.
What stood out for me was the remark of by one of the girls. As adults we use many words and descriptions to explain the closeness of God. ‘only a breath away’, ‘a constant being with us.’ ‘closer than a brother.’ But one young lady put it so succinctly ‘God is like having a built-in best friend.’ We couldn’t have put it better!