Anna sat next to Mommy and Daddy in church and watched with big eyes while Pastor Michaels baptized Old Mr. Jenkins and his wife. Everyone seemed happy and sang between the people being baptized. “Mommy, why are they dunking them like that?” she whispered.
“They aren’t getting dunked, it’s called baptism. They’re giving their hearts to Jesus and the baptism is a symbol that their sins are washed away?”
“Is the water going to change color?”
“No, dear. Shhh.”
“So how do you know they’re gone?”
“You believe it and Jesus takes care of it. Now they have a new life to start and they have changed hearts. Now they follow Jesus. Shhh. Pastor is about to talk again.”
The next morning, Anna was sitting on the back porch with her dolls looking just little bored.
“Honey, why don’t you wash your dolly clothes?” asked Mommy on the way past with a basket of laundry. I could string you a line right here form this to that porch post and you could wash while I’m washing.”
“That sounds like fun!” declared Anna. She ran to go get her dolly clothes and bring them down from her bedroom. Meanwhile, Mommy had set up a bucket of warm water, and strung a line and set out a pile of small clothespins.
“I shall scrub them and get them all clean. My goodness, my dolls work hard at getting messy!” she chattered. Mommy smiled and went back inside to get another load for her own lines.
Everything seemed fine for a while, the doll clothes were hanging to dry, Anna seemed busy and Mommy went inside to make up the mashed potatoes for supper when suddenly from the front yard came a cry.
“No, no stop! Help, Help!”
Mommy ran outside and saw Anna under the big maple tree in the back yard screaming and crying and shaking a stick. “What’s the matter, what’s the matter?” she exclaimed. “Are you hurt?”
“Sophia caught a bird and she’s killing it!” Anna cried. “And she has it up that tree, Mommy stop her!”
“Oh, dear,” sighed Mommy taking Anna’s hand. “No dear, we can’t stop her. We can’t do anything for it, she’s already killed it. That’s just her nature, cats hunt and sometimes they catch something. In this case, she got a grackle. We can’t do anything for it, she’s already killed it.”
“But she’s going to eat it!” cried Anna.
“Yes, dear, she is. Come along now. Let’s go read a story and get away from Sophia. She’s just a cat and they do stuff like that.” Mommy led Anna back to the house. They got down a Bible story book and Mommy read to Anna for a while and then left her to coloring while Mommy made supper. It was quiet for a while and suddenly, there was another scream form the back.
“Owww! Oh, you naughty thing! Mommy!” cried Anna.
“Now what’s the matter?” exclaimed Mommy coming to the back porch, drying her hands on her apron.
“Oh, Mommy, Sophie is up the tree again and I didn’t get her done!”
“What?” asked her Mommy.
“I thought about what pastor said last week in church, about baptism, and how your nature changes and I took Sophia and asked her if she wanted to be a changed kitty and she purred, so I took her over to my scrub bucket and held her up and said in the name of the father, son and Holy Spirit and then I tried to get her down into the bucket, but I only got her half in and she shrieked and climbed up my arm and scratched me and I only got her half done and do you think that was enough to change her nature?” asked Anna all in one breath.
Mommy leaned back and laughed out loud, but stopped as soon as she could get herself to do so, and then answered, “Oh, honey, baptism only works on people, not animals. You can’t change an animals’ nature by baptizing it. Oh, dear,” she chuckled again. “Let’s go in and you help me make up the supper and let’s wash that scratch and put on a band arid before dad gets home, OK?”
And that is just what they did.