miracles...

Kelli Allen, a wonderful excellent friend of mine, told me somewhere between our first and second child that the real miracle of childbirth is that you usually forget about it enough to do it again.

I should stop right there and say: No, Mama, I'm not pregnant.

I'm talking about that wonderful church institution that drains an entire congregation's energy for a whole week: Vacation Bible School. Because it has occurred to me this year that VBS is a lot like childbirth in the way Kelli described it. Each year I spend weeks planning, improvising activities that I simply like better than the ones in the curriculum, and cutting out all those aggravating pieces of cardstock Lifeway likes to make part of every leader pack. Then I decorate, which usually involves climbing on chairs, moving heavy furniture, and more aggravating pieces of cardstock. And then...it's on. The children descend upon the church and the fun begins. Except some nights I wouldn't go right to fun. But despite the weariness at the end of the week, when this magical time arrives again next year you are likely to find me in a decorated classroom with my aggravating cardstock cut-outs all over again. Nevermind the fact that I've already determined I need a break next year. I've counted it up and found that I've taught VBS for 9 years now (I did skip a year right after Luke was born)...which does not seem so very long until you think about the fact that I'm only 26!!! Maybe a break is in order. Ask me next year.

VBS holds many small-scale miracles, to be sure. Gathering such a large group of children for a concentrated week of teaching God's word--that's a miracle. The closeness each class acheives by the end of the week--that's a miracle. And the fact that nearly the same people make VBS a sucess year after year--that's most certainly a miracle.