The warmth of the room wraps its arms around me in a comforting embrace. The beautiful sound of voices joined together in worship makes the entire room come alive. I can feel the heartbeat of the very walls that enclose us. I close my eyes and fall into this moment, never wanting to land again.

I am free; I am soaring above the cloud line where heaven hides and where every fear and every worry is nonexistent. I am where I was always supposed to be, a place where God is always beside me.

I step into the holy water and suddenly I am no longer an orphan; I have found my family. Their eyes meet mine with so much love and so much grace as I share the darkest parts of me. My body is weightless as fear and shame are slowly emptied out of every part of my being until I am nothing but who I was always supposed to be.

A child of God, a child of a King.

My heart dances inside my chest before my head hits the water because my old life will be washed away, and soon I will be drenched in the Father's love and washed clean of everything. Now I am fully submerged, and I can feel sin falling off me like dead skin. I can feel myself being made new, and I can feel my soul surrender itself to its rescuer.

As my body breaks the surface of the water, I know with every part of my being that I am saved.

My face falls into my hands as I cry tears of never-ending joy; my body vibrates with a newfound happiness stronger than anything I've ever known. I look out into the crowd and my eyes are met with my new joyful teary-eyed family, and I am yet again overtaken by this extraordinary moment.

As I make my way to the bathroom to get changed, this feeling lingers. As I make my way back to the service the feeling lingers. As the service ends and I am met by embrace after embrace, the feeling lingers. As we drive along the highway and snow starts to fall, the feeling still lingers. As I wake up the next morning, the feeling is still there and that is when I realize, Jesus does not linger, Jesus stays forever.

This feeling of joy, of love, of peace, of being called home is never-ending. I will remember this day as long as I live, and even after that.

To be with You is all my heart desires but to know I have devoted my life on Earth to You fills an emptiness that I have been carrying for so long. Thank you, Uncle Mike for your prayers that I truly believe led me to Christ, thank you Grace Fellowship Saratoga for effortlessly welcoming me into your community. Thank you Mike Adams for giving me the best day of my life, and thank you Jesus for loving me unconditionally and starting a fire inside all of our hearts that gives us the power to make moments like these, all glory to You, our God.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17