Last night kicked off Mission Weekend, and it is with great joy that we celebrate baptisms again this morning.
Brianne Rowh is going to get #dunked during the 9:15 gathering – check out her story below!
Hi, I’m Bre Rowh, a college wellness educator, wife, and full-time mother of Finley, Foster and Lola.
I’m a planner by nature, type-A personality, and control freak. I’ve spent my entire life believing in God but it wasn’t until fully surrendering my life to Him did I learn to fully trust in Him.
I grew up going to church at important times and checking boxes of what it meant to be a Christian. It was really just going through the motions.
During college I often lived for myself as I struggled with having a sick parent at home and the toll that took on my family. I wanted to fix my father’s health, to heal him, and ultimately have control over the unknown. This caused a great deal of worry for me and sometimes anger with God as to why this had to be the story of our lives.
Fast forward post-college, my husband and I stumbled upon Grace while looking for a church home in Howard County. It was here that I saw what it meant to dive into the Word and live with a heart like Jesus. It wasn’t complicated- it was authentic and venerable. I craved the relationships that some of my peers had and I wanted to free myself from the need to control my life externally with endless task-lists and boxed to be checked.
I started to surround myself with women at different points in their faith journey (shout out to my original small group!) and dove into the Word.
At about this time my husband and I started trying to conceive and were met with infertility. So for the girl that wanted to control everything I was faced with a situation beyond my control as we entered into an IVF journey. Being faced with the unknown, I found my peace and hope in the Lord. The day I drove to our fertility clinic to be tested for pregnancy the Matthew West song “Strong Enough” was playing and I knew then that it wasn’t my job to be strong enough, to control, to worry, to freak out… I knew then that God was more than strong enough for me.
That was a profound turning point for me to release the worry.
Shortly after I conceived my first child, my father’s health was further declining and we knew that his life’s journey was coming to an end. In a time when I often felt like the world was spinning out of control, I knew and trusted that God was working for good. My father had not submitted his life to the Lord and was often angry and bitter as a result of his journey with disease; however, a few months before his death he came to know God. It’s hard to explain unless you were a part of this journey but it was as if his entire person changed from the inside out. As we had the privilege of holding his hand during his last breath on Earth, I felt God surround my family. It was all God, and this is my testimony.
I am getting baptized today formally, although my heart was baptized by Christ long ago. I am so privileged to have seen God write on my father’s heart and am so grateful to have witnessed the miracles of my children via IVF. Since accepting Jesus into my heart, I am no longer plagued by worry because I am confident that in all things God is working for my benefit and the benefit of others.
Proverbs 3: 5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” I am so grateful that the Lord has taught me how to trust in him, lean into him and take comfort in his plan.
Baptism at Grace
During all worship gatherings on Baptism Weekends, we celebrate the very reason we exist as a church: Christ’s mission to make disciples, baptizing and teaching in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28: 19-20). We share testimonies of how Jesus changes lives now and for eternity. And the best part… we baptize with a joy that’s out of this world!