Tis the Season for VBS

'Tis the season. For VBS.

A ton of people I know are busy with Vacation Bible School these days. For me, it usually turns out to be the busiest and most exhausting week of the entire summer. And, even knowing that, it turns out to consistently be one of the weeks I look forward to most.

I honestly can't tell you what it is about VBS that I love so much. I have been a director in the past, but even when I am not, I am wondering about the theme, the dates for the calendar, my job. As a former youth minister, I often planned VBS without curriculum (it wasn't available with our budget); as a helper I often have to rewrite the curriculum to make it work for a particular group. Then every child who walks through your door needs something a little different, personally and as a group. I love the challenge of "making it work" and "rolling with the changes" at an incredibly charged pace. There are many aspects for my own personality that I really enjoy.

But, as hard as it is to pinpoint what I like best, I do know one thing that shines at the top of the list. There is just about nothing sweeter than children sharing love. Words just don't quite get it - I realize that sentence sounds empty a bit. If you've been in that moment, however, you KNOW. Here's more of what I mean. A group of rising first graders stood outside my door and sang "Jesus loves Me" - and it was so powerful to me, the tenderness and innocence and hard determination of this, that tears started to form in my eyes. A few of the little teeny ones, who don't even come through my class yet, who shared smiles and high fives with me and liked me just because I acted silly at some point that they remember. The big "grown up" rising fourth and fifth graders, who are "too cool for Bible school" but to the side will sometimes admit they got it, they liked it, they were touched by it, they appreciated it. The special kids who shine in each group because they have questions and hugs and life to share. The children who you may not see again until next summer, but who I will remember their names and how I was their teacher when they were very small. My own children saying "thanks Mom, your part was my favorite." I see sweet faces and smiles, I feel hugs and kisses, I hear kind words and gratitude - and then I think, "why did I ever question why I love this week?"

I am a great cheerleader of VBS. I think it is a time that kids and grownups alike really do cherish and remember. I know I do. More than any other experience of the year, it draws me closer to my church family, and makes me feel part of community. We care for each other's children for a time. It is intergenerational, which I personally cannot get enough of - I wish we did more things that encourage this in church and the world. It is fun, and creative, and a sheer force of what can happen when everyone works toward a common goal.

I hold this time so dear, I'll let you in on a secret. Each year as my children grow out of their VBS t-shirts, I quietly put them aside. Next year is my son's last year of VBS before he moves up to that young middle schooler (wow, can't believe I am even writing that!). As a gift to him, and to my daughter when she is ready, I want to have a quilt made out of those t-shirts. I want them to take away a physical piece of something to honor that love that was shown to them. I want them to be able to literally wrap themselves in all the work and love and good intentions that came to being in those weeks represented by those t-shirts. I want those memories to be something they can touch when they want to do so.

And somewhere, I know I have also packed away my own VBS t-shirts. I rarely wear them once the week is over, but I can't get rid of them either. They hold that love for me too, a powerful reminder of work well done and kind memories. And, for me, they hold the hope and possibility of community in some of the sweetest forms I have known it.

I am grateful, and filled with love for that experience. Amen and amen.

In Wisdom,
Brandi Calhoun Diamond