I love the moments when the Spirit surprises me with an unexpected picture of grace. This past Sunday was one of those moments!

It happened during the baptism of a sweet little girl named Kirby. All was going according to plan, that is, until the moment little Kirby went off script.

After the water was placed upon her head, she looked down at the baptismal font as if something in her little heart wasn’t quite finished. Rev. Karen Tyler, who was baptizing her, noticed and gently lowered her closer to the water, thinking she wanted another look. And that’s when it happened. Kirby reached her tiny hand into the water, scooped it up, and put it right back on her head.

She literally went back for seconds.

The whole congregation erupted in laughter and applause. It was such a sweet and special moment. Yet while the moment may have passed for many, it lingered with me long after the service ended. There was just something so pure about it. She didn’t understand theology or sacraments; she just knew she wanted more of what she had just experienced.

More joy. More grace. More water.

And isn’t that what our hearts should long for, too? The reminder for me (and hopefully for you as well) is this: baptism isn’t a “one-off” event, it’s a reminder of the life we’ve been invited to live each day in Christ. It’s an open invitation to return again and again to the One who renews and restores us.

Martin Luther once said that every morning when he washed his face, he would remind himself, “I am baptized.” That’s not just a statement of fact; it’s a declaration of identity.

Titus 3:5 tells us, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

Today, take an opportunity to return to the waters of your baptism.

May we, like little Kirby Jean, never lose that childlike wonder, the eagerness to reach back for the waters of grace and let them wash over us again and again.