BAPTISM:  FROM THE SHALLOWS
TO THE DEPTHS

For many years I felt my assignment from God

Had been to float in a birdbath,

Enjoying the beauty of the sky

But longing for a wider experience

And view of His creation.

He has now taken me and submerged my being

In His great and vast ocean

Where there is no bottom nor end.

I can swim freely and enjoy the beauty

Of creatures innumerable

Who seem to have anticipated my arrival.

The waters which receive me are warm and welcoming

And have an eternal quality;

They change me while remaining the same.

The rays from the Son shine to the depths

Giving Life to all they touch.

I have only begun to search these Life-giving waters,

But the more I embrace them

The more I find to explore and revel in.

The awareness has dawned that I have come Home

And the Giver of Life is at the center of this new world,

Holding it all together

With the Word of His mouth.

To my amazement

My tears of repentance yielding joy

Have mingled with the very waters I am being baptized in,

Producing life forevermore and endless praise

To the One who called me to Himself

And translated me

Into the depths of His love.

Christ of the Abyss


Written shortly after entering the Orthodox Church, 2006