Why my husband is so cool

My husband is way cool. I couldn't be more proud. He is such an instrument of God, being both wise and honest. He is winsome and kind. Let me tell you what he did.

A friend of mine from work, PM, stopped me one day and asked if my husband would baptize their baby, if they were successful with adoption. I was flabbergasted that he would ask, let alone ask me. PM and I worked together 5 years ago. I hadn't always known what he thought of me, he liked to give me a rough time b/c I was religious, a "pastor's wife." Honestly, he made me a little nervous b/c he was a bit more aggressive than I was used to, speaking his mind ~ no nonsense. About 2 years ago I had seen PM carrying a little boy Izak's age. It was his foster son. He and G were in the process of adopting him. He'd been in their care (and hearts) since he was 2 weeks old. He was beautiful. Then I heard through the grapevine that something went wrong during the legal process, the biological father decided he did want parental rights after all, and took the little boy back. They lost their 18-month old little boy to the druggie sperm donor. As you can imagine, P and GM were devastated. For a man who already seemed cynical about spiritual things, this seemed like it would be the nail in the coffin. When I saw him a work he looked like hell, every inch of him suffering.

I was walking by the desk at work when he popped the question about Matt ("Father Matt"). Does your husband still work at that big church on McKinley? Does he baptize babies? Because they were going to be adopting soon, and they wanted to get that done as soon as possible. Once I scooped up my lower jaw I stammered, Yes, sure. I'm sure he would. And PM was so chipper, so hopeful. Almost like a different man... and then came the day that he called me at home. They had a baby boy, born one day before Libby! We swapped war stories and laughed together, and then he asked me to ask Father Matt if it would be okay to baptize their new son. I gave him Matt's office number, the name of his assistance, and told him to call Matt and set it up. I got off the phone so psyched! So I ran into the living room, and guess what Matt said. "I don't baptize babies, Heidi. You know that."

I begged and pleaded, I bargained and whined. Please, please, please!! You've gotta baptize PM's son! See, he's always been so skeptical of Christians, he's a disgruntled catholic, and been so wounded! And now he's reaching out, maybe for the first time! You've just gotta do this! Don't blow this!

Matt simply asked me to trust him. He understood the significance, but also knew better than to sell out his theology. He had P and GM come in and meet with him at church. (I was biting my nails the whole time, praying and fussing. A real woman of faith, you know.) They had a great visit. Matt was able to explain what he believes the Bible teaches about babies, their souls, salvation, and dedication. He set it up as, "You can always depend on me to be honest. So I want you to understand why I don't baptize babies." And P and GM completely resonated with his explanation. It was, in fact, freeing for them, answering many incongruities. Matt wasn't trying to sell the church, but did say that if they ever wanted to visit they were welcome. The day I walked out of the worship center and saw PM walking towards me was the day work world and church world collided. He saw me, smiled, walked up and kissed me on the cheek and said, "I didn't know that you could sing." What a sweet encounter. After they had a chance to think about the options that Matt presented, they called and asked him if he would come to their home and do a special prayer of blessing for their baby boy.

So that's where Matt was today. At their home with family, celebrating a beautiful little baby boy. They were pleased. And I'm just proud because my husband is so cool. God gave him incredible wisdom to serve my friends lovingly and with integrity. Oh Lord, for a faith that is honest and winsome!