Last week at Life in Christ we wrapped up the 2021 version of Vacation Bible School. We had a nice turnout of kids who were taught and cared for by a fantastic group of leaders and volunteers. I was so impressed!
As I watched the happy children scurry around from station to station I was reminded of some of my VBS experiences. And I remember one that had to be the best VBS ever.
Although I didn't feel that way at the beginning. I wasn't keen to attend. My best summer day was spent playing baseball with my neighborhood friends. Going to VBS with the new neighbor kids, who I hardly knew, was not my idea of fun.
Boy, was I wrong!
It turned out the new kids in the neighborhood were pretty neat (I would have found that out if I had just taken a little time to get to know them). Also, the people at their church were very nice. We began each morning with singing songs and learning about some poor children who lived in a village in Mexico. All of our offerings would be sent to help the kids in the village. Our teachers taught us stories about Jesus, using flannel boards with cut-out characters (a far cry from all the audio/video stuff we have at our fingertips today). We did some pretty neat crafts and ate all the cookies we could stuff in our mouths.
The closing service was that Friday night. Our class was chosen to sing, "Stand Up, Stand Up with Jesus," and we sang it as loudly as we could. During the week we learned that Jesus stands up for us - He protects us, comforts us, helps us and even dies for us so that we can be free of our sins and live with Him in heaven. How could we not sing our best for Jesus?
Psalm 78:3 reads: That which we have heard and known and what our forefathers have told us, we will not hide from our children...so that they might put their trust in God and not forget the deeds of God, but keep His commandments. If you have the chance, send your kids or grandkids to Vacation Bible School this year. Who knows - they might come home and announce, "It was the best VBS ever!"
