A full dunk baptism.

Recently my older son was baptized at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Oakland. He requested the full dunk, not the sprinkle, and the church went for it, moving mountains to make this happen. It makes me emotional thinking about the community coming together to problem solve how to get this 5’8” young man fully immersed in water inside the small church. But they did it. And Jimmy realized his desire, taking in this blessing with grace and joy. I’m still processing everything that happened. It was incredibly touching, bringing both rectors and many of the congregants to tears.

Later that day, we were driving on the freeway and had to swerve to avoid a car that had stalled in the right lane around a blind curve. It was a mom and her three kids and they were clearly in danger. We pulled over and with the help of another stranger who eventually stopped too, helped them push the car to safety and give it a jump.

There’s something here that feels important. The church could have simply said no, could have said that getting the large tub was too much effort. We could have just driven by the family and thought someone else would stop to help. In our busy lives, we often don’t want to be burdened with this level of effort. We are already so stressed, we don’t have time or space for it. And it’s okay. We are all here doing the best we can. But it is amazing to experience the exchange that can happen, as both the giver and the receiver, when we do make the time. What else could we possibly be here to do but show up for each other in this way? We don’t just practice slowing down, coming into presence for ourselves. We do it because when we do, we help create the world we want to live in.