even if it's not your thing...

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
  –Matthew 18:2-5 (NIV)

I have a love hate relationship with VBS. Yes I said it. & It feels good to get it off my chest. 

Here’s what I love…

I love the kids. Their bright eyes & curious minds & boundless energy.

I love the Holy Spirit’s presence. The simplicity of the message. The truth spoken.

I love the sights & sounds & games & snacks.

I love love love the selfless volunteers that pour themselves into all the little details that make the week so special. (A shout out to all the teens that are coming out & the inordinate amount of guys that came out this year. Way to man up fellas. For real.) 

Here’s what I hate…

I hate myself & my lame excuses. You know the ones? 

That I don't have kids that age & I worked all day & it’s too much & I just want to go home to a bowl of cereal & my sweatpants.

I hate that I’ve worked it up so much in my mind that I worry that I’m not gifted with creativity or music or kids or whatever.

I hate that all that dumb stuff makes me drag my tookis into the church with less than an exuberant attitude the first night out. Um… I’m actually downplaying the dragging my tookis thing cause to be honest it was pretty downright ugly.

Anyhoo…  here’s the true truth. 

The kids don’t care that I’m awkward or that I can’t sing or that I can only draw stick people. They just love that I’m there hanging out on the floor with my legs crossed, singing at the top of my lungs, gesturing wildly & experiencing the whole thing with them. 

Oh don’t get me wrong here, I understand that there is a desperate need for gifted children's ministry people like my visionary friends Jodi & Kayla, who see a plan on paper & remake it out in the real world. The super creative people like my friend Geri & her team who make all the elaborate props. Cause seriously, if I had a dollar for how many times I heard kids & parents go “What? Whoa!”… I could be super rich right now. Or the precious teachers like my friend Elizabeth who love those kids so stinkin' much & just make the stories come alive. & not to leave out, all the game organizers & the kitchen crew & the musicians & the actors & sound guys & girls & the sweet, sweet people who lead little ones around all night racking up cool points just by being there. OHMYGOSHPEOPLE! The beauty of it would take your breath away. 

This is the body of Christ working in a miraculous way. Many gifts (& some maybe not so much), working toward the common goal of introducing little people to the love of Jesus… some of them for the very first time. 

So why am I telling you all this today? Well, I can tell you it's not because I'm trying to make you feel guilty or make you think you have to be everywhere & do everything but if you are using the same lame excuses I was... if you think maybe you are too busy or aren’t gifted or you’re too tired or too old or to awkward or whatever, get over yourself. Your sweatpants will be waiting for you in heaven. BTW... that’s not Biblical, it's just my opinion. 

But seriously, now is not the time to be selfish… Now is the time to make a difference in the eternal. You’ll be blessed I promise. 

“The soul is healed by being with children.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

*PS if you were on the decorating crew or any ‘prep’ crew, you should stop by tonight while the kids are there. It’s magical!