CHAPTER 42
A NEED TO KNOW
On Sunday, Caleb went by and picked up Beth for church—he was excited to go this time. When they walked in everyone was swarming him, telling him how excited they were about his decision to accept Christ. They’d all heard him on television. For the first time ever, Caleb felt at home and at peace with himself inside a church.
Dr. Braxston spoke of trying to live the Christian life in a world full of haters. When the invitation time came, Beth nudged Caleb and said, “Get up, please; we need to go down front and talk with the pastor.”
Caleb said stubbornly, “No, I’m not going down there.”
She shook her head. “Get up, Caleb! The invitation will be over soon!”
“No!” he said defiantly. “I refuse to go down there. Why would I want to?”
Beth, flustered with him now, reached over and pinched him hard in the side and said, “You get up out of that pew right now, Caleb Lewis, or I will grab you by the ear and drag you down there.”
“Okay, okay, OKAY! Quit pinching me.”
They went to the front and spoke with Dr. Braxston about Caleb’s decision to accept Christ. Beth said, “Caleb would like to be a member of the church and to be baptized tonight if that is okay with you, Dr. Braxston?” Caleb just stared at her and started to say something, but she put her finger to his mouth and said, “HUSH!”
Dr. Braxston said, “It would an honor, Caleb.”
Caleb glared at her with those blue eyes and she said, “Don’t you give me that look; I’m not scared of you one little bit.” She turned her attention away from him. “Pastor, we’ll be here at 5. Is that the right time?”
“Yes, see you then!”
As they were walking out of the church, Caleb nudged Beth. “What was that? I’ve heard of baptism, but what is it, exactly, and why in the world is it so important to you?”
“It’s a symbol to show you’re born again. It’s a public declaration that you want to follow the Lord’s walk. It’s also to show your friends and family that you are saved. When you get baptized, you’re telling the world how your life has changed. It’s a symbol of rebirth. It doesn’t save you, but it shows you have been washed in the blood of Christ and are reborn.”
Caleb smiled. “Well, this showing up places and not telling me stuff like this has got to stop! And if you ever pinch me again, I’ll pinch you back.” Pointing a finger in her face, he laughed and said, “You’ve been getting a bit too pushy lately. You better watch yourself or I’ll bop you in the head.”
* * *
They went back to Beth’s apartment and Caleb said, “We haven’t had a chance to talk about when you want to get married.”
“Friday of this week,” she said casually.
“This coming Friday? Sheez, why not right now?”
“I don’t want to wait until the championship game is over. I’m ready to get married now. This coming weekend is the only free weekend we have coming up that we aren’t busy with something else. Also, if you don’t mind, I want a small, private wedding—just your dad and my parents and maybe a friend or two. Is that okay with you?”
He shrugged. “Whatever you want to do.”
“Then we can go somewhere nice for a few days and have our honeymoon!” She smiled off into the distance for a bit, picturing the places they could go. Then she suddenly giggled. “I am SO ready to make love for the first time. I’ve waited a long time. This is exactly the way God planned for a man and a woman to have sex.” Beth bopped him in the chest, pointed her finger at him and said, “Rest up superstar, rest up.”
* * *
They showed up at the church that night for Caleb to get his baptism instructions. Beth went out in the lobby to wait for church to start. She looked up to see that Coach Richert and Coach Axom were just coming through the door. Right after them were Jason Briggs, Lance Wood, Lavon Jackson, and Jason Allgood. She welcomed them all and thanked them for coming, and together they headed inside and had a seat. Dr. Braxston stood in the water, and Caleb came out and stood next to him. Dr. Braxton asked Caleb if he had accepted Jesus Christ as his savior, and he said, “Yes sir.”
Dr. Braxston then said, “On that profession of faith, I baptize you, Caleb Lewis, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” and dunked Caleb in the water. Everyone stood up and started clapping.
Beth sat there with happy tears rolling down her cheeks, clapping till her hands hurt. This is just perfect, she thought to herself.
As the week went on, Caleb’s time was consumed studying for his finals, and Beth was working 18-hour days. She was frantically trying to get preparations made, not only for the wedding and honeymoon, but for the football team going out to New Orleans in January. In between all of that, Caleb and the football team were preparing to play Miami—the best team they had played that year, by far—for the National Championship.