I am so proud of Faye! She was baptized yesterday! In the FLIPPING ocean! In Carlsbad! In November! During a storm! I'm pretty sure it even hailed on us (That was an incredibly painful 30 seconds). The wind was pretty brutal up on the jetty as we watched Faye enter the cold water below, followed by Brandon, Lola, and Hudson. I love that she entered first. Unafraid. Ready and excited to get baptized by her Daddy.
And how cool is it that she asked Hudson and Lola to be her witnesses?! I just love that they had that experience.
My biceps are still burning (more than 24 hours later) from holding Olive to shelter her from the storm. A few dozen loved ones, some travelled hours to be there, lined the Jetty. Cousin Karen (14) held Evie. Her arms are probably worse off than mine--Thank you Karen! I don't thank you enough for the GEM of a 'big cousin' you are for my kids).
Earlier in the week, I sat Faye down and talked to her about how Saturday's weather was looking pretty crummy. We probably wouldn't be able to spend time at the beach beforehand visiting with everyone anymore. We talked about moving it to a pool and or changing the date for a weekend with better weather. We talked about different options and ultimately left the decision up to her. She decided to go forward with everything as it was.
This time in life is so stressful. We just had the crazy election.. We've been through a lot the last few months, grieving the loss of Poppy Floyd and our sweet nephew Caleb... I feel like I'm barely 'managing the chaos' and all too often I feel like I'm not doing it gracefully, AT ALL. Baptisms are wonderful. It shouldn't be stressful, but as a mom aka family-event-planner, I feel like the pressure right now in life is just ten-fold.
It's been stressful for me..."How many people do we invite? We need to be mindful of everyone's various concerns about COVID... The baptism font is off limits, so our options are beach or ocean.. Ok, that is very cool, it will be so special and memorable... Faye didn't even hesitate to choose the beach.. Ok, which beach will be private enough, what will the tide be like at that time.. Mornings at the beach are pretty cold right now.. Maybe we should do it in the afternoon.. How do we do a program? Oh, no program at all.. Baptism interview done. We need to take some pictures and send a somewhat last-minute invite to family and a few neighbors.. We're all set. How do we navigate crowds indoors? We can gather at the beach before instead of an afterparty (per tradition).. Ok, all planned, all set, awesome! Oh wait, look at the forecast?!?!"
I just want to cry, it was so hard and so stressful to navigate... But we pray, we make the decisions and we move forward with faith and hope that it will all work out..
Much like Faye did yesterday... She taught us that we don't WAIT to keep the commandments of our Savior until the storms of life are over. We make and keep them NOW...During the storms. Because He still has precious and eternal blessings for us during those storms.
Yesterday Faye's stormy water's didn't get calmed, but she still made those covenants with The Lord. That is so significant to me. Faye=FAITH. Thank you for your faithful example of choosing the covenant path during the storm yesterday, Faye! I am so blessed to be your Mom!
My dear friend Jennie Smith dropped this poem off for Faye today. It is wonderful, she is wonderful. Heavenly Father is ever-mindful of us with angels (both seen and unseen) in our life. Love you Jennie!
She Stands
By: Jennie Smith
The wind is furious, and she stands.
The rain descends, and she stands.
The ocean intimidates, and she stands.
She stands today and stands forever.
She stands with her father. She stands with the Lord.
She stands For the Lord.
She covenants today to stand with Him as the winds, rain and oceans of life threaten.
She stands in it, through it, embraces it because she stands with Him.
And now she sits. She sits and receives.
She is surrounded by the power of God through men who shield her momentarily from the storm.
Her angel army surrounds her, some on the beach and others she cannot see.
She is given a gift. An eternal gift.
This gift empowers her to be like Him, to stand by Him, stand with Him, stand for Him.
She stands, she sits, she receives, she is.
She is a daughter of God. She is a woman who will not be stopped by storms that threaten.
She stands, rooted by Christ.
She stands in truth.
She stands in righteousness.
She stands.
Faye Waldron stands.
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