All Wet (By Way of Introduction)

I don’t know if I mark a certain date and time in 1997 as the moment I got saved, but I do know that something wonderful happened. I believe God had been hard at work on me and in my life for some time: numbering my days, knitting me together, musing over every thought, word and deed, hoping for the best, loving me at my worst. I also believe God is far from finished with me and that salvation is ultimately a living and unending relationship with Jesus; the love of God in Christ that I hope to fall deeper into each day of my life. You could say I saw the light or that I was slain in the spirit. I might have uttered, “Aha,” or shouted out, “Eureka!” There may have been a big, bright light bulb over my head… But, there wasn’t. What happened instead was more of a confluence of many streams of blessing that had been flowing into my life for years. What really happened was that I got all wet.

It was at a large gathering at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. With the exception of infant baptism, a Christian summer camp, an occasional youth trip, and a worship service or two that I can remember, I had only been part of a church for the few months since my twenty-seventh birthday. The decision to confirm my faith and join a church was preceded by years of seeking, questioning and trying on different answers for size. There were many along the way who graciously shared the road and from whom I still have much to learn: friends and family, teammates, co-workers, teachers and coaches, authors and poets, my pastor and his wife, the faithful woman who is the love of my life and our beautiful children.

So, there I was listening to impassioned speakers, moving my lips to songs I didn’t know, and wanting to touch with my own hands a little of what was going on all around me. At some point it started to rain. Soon it started raining harder. The gentleman on stage shared his sense that the rain was God’s response to our praises. We sang louder and the rain grew even stronger. We sang, “King of Zion, Judah’s Lion, Reign On Me!” And, He did. The rain blew sideways all the way up into the nosebleed section where I sat. People rushed onto the field and began sliding joyously in the mud as we sang. In all the excitement the thought came to me, “Don’t let it stop raining without you getting wet.” Just like that.

I was amazed at how strongly and how quickly I rejected this notion. I asked myself what the big deal was. I answered that it made no sense, served no good purpose, would be a foolish waste of time. I wondered what would happen if it did stop raining. I was sure that I couldn’t make it all the way outside in time, anyway. On and on this quiet battle raged somewhere in the heart of my being. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I awkwardly got up, shuffled my way down the aisle, hit the stairs and started running. There was a gnawing fear in my gut that I had wasted too much time arguing with myself; that I had waited too long. I was suddenly afraid that even though I had made up my mind to answer the call, it would stop raining and I would be left high and dry.

I needn’t have worried. There was so much rain and it was striking the ground so hard when I got outside that it actually seemed to bounce back up off the ground into a fine mist. Now what? Another thought came to me, “Walk.” This time there was no argument. I walked. And, as I walked, I began to get excited thinking about the meaning of all that was happening. I now believed God was speaking to me. I imagined that this was a heavenly affirmation of my baptism. It was the beginning of a great movement of the Spirit and within minutes hundreds of others who also heard the call would be following me in a majestic circuit around RFK in the rain to claim the city for Jesus! It was right about then, proudly enraptured by the grandeur of my conversion, that I noticed a lot of people on the dry side of a plate glass window, pointing at me and having a good laugh.

I was crushed. I was humbled. I kept walking. What could this possibly mean? Was this all for nothing? Had I imagined the whole thing? Did anybody have a towel? And, once more, a thought came to me; a still, small voice that called me by name and said, “I just wanted to see if you were listening.”


Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” -Matthew 14:28, 29a