08/21/2026
Welcome to the Family Maggie Mae. We love you.
Maggie Mae, you are everything that is right about this world.
Your baptism has been a long time coming.
You’ve talked about it for so long. Maybe that’s because you’ve been a part of this family all your life, and the language and love of the faith have found their way into your core being.
We know you needed this moment of water and Spirit.
But Maggie Mae, honestly, we needed it too!
The ground is cracked right now, the grass is brittle, and West Texas has nearly forgotten what rain feels like. Day after day, the sun bears down, and the earth waits for water.
And if we are truthful, maybe it’s a reflection of our hearts. They have grown cracked, brittle, and dry, too. Forgetting what it is like to feel the Spirit water our dry, baked souls.
In the middle of a hot, dry August, you stepped down into cool water—and reminded us that our drought-stricken souls need replenishing as well.
I hope you always remember what that water meant. We don’t believe there was anything magical about it. The water did not save you. Jesus did. You went into the water because you had already trusted him. Your baptism was your way of standing before your church family and the world, saying, “I belong to Jesus, and I want to follow him.”
And you told that story with your whole body. You went beneath the water, a picture of being buried with Christ, and then you came back up, a picture of being raised with him to a new life.
It was your confession of faith. It was a moment stretched between grace and mystery. And we were there to see it, feel it, be replenished by it.
Someday the drought will break. Rain will come again, the grass will turn green, and this dry summer will become a memory. But I hope you never forget the water of this summer.
When the years get hard, and your own soul feels a little dry, remember your baptism. Remember the water. Remember the people who stood there smiling. And most of all, remember the Savior whose grace is deeper than any water we could ever put you under.
Maggie Mae, in a dry and thirsty land, your baptism reminded all of us that God is still bringing life out of the dust.
We desperately needed that reminder.
Yes, you are truly everything that is good in this world.
You are loved, Maggie Mae.
And you will always have a place to belong in this family.
