God Has A Plan For VBS

Vacation Bible School was this last week and looking back it is so clear to see where God was working. As you may know I'm a planner. I like to plan. I like to be organized. I feel unsettled when I do not have a plan to follow and/or when things are unorganized. I may not always know exactly what is going on, but I like to have a plan for what I do know.

Back in early to mid spring I let the youth pastor in charge of VBS know I'd be able to do crafts again this year. I just needed to know the theme so I could start preparing. I let him know I wouldn't be able to do too much before summer, but would like to at least know the theme so I could start thinking about ideas as well as keep my eye out for any craft items or decorations.

Spring passed by and summer began. I asked about the theme and it was yet to be chosen. I knew at this point God was asking me to be patient and to trust his plan for VBS. This was not easy, but I know I can trust God and I know anything God plans is WAY better than anything I can plan.

Mid summer comes and I have a theme, Gold Rush, but the curriculum has yet to be ordered. I figured I'd start some research for Gold Rush and was only coming across 4th grade level crafts (I figured this would be the case since 4th grade is when California studies the Gold Rush). I remind the youth pastor I will only be in charge of crafts, but nothing else this year.

A month before VBS the youth pastor announces he's resigning, but will be here through the end of the summer. Oh, and by the way, he was leaving for 3 weeks for a family vacation just before VBS.

I wasn't sure what to think, but knew in order to have VBS someone was going to have to step up and start planing. The VBS Gold Rush box came shortly thereafter and I got started with the crafts. I looked at the list and thought how there were so many items that will be hard to get and surely no one would donate them (such as wide mouth canning rings, lots and lots of fabric, and LOTS AND LOTS of jute/rope). I looked at the list and realized if I had to purchase everything I'd be WAY over budget. I started to panic a little, and then realized just do what I can and God will take care of the rest. I made a list of every single craft item we needed and put it in the bulletin.

The following week the head pastor asked if we had a flyer to pass out for VBS. We worked together to get the flyer ready to pass out. Meanwhile the donations began to come in like a flood. Since my name was on the craft supply list people assumed I was the one heading up VBS. I'd inform them I wasn't, but I might be able to answer questions. When I entered the VBS sign-up list on the computer one of the other Office Angels got started I asked if I could clean it up a little so it was easier to see how many were registered. Next thing I knew I was heading up the registration and creating the volunteer list. When I realized we had a lot of teens heading the different areas of VBS I was a little worried, but realized God has a plan and to let him use me any way needed.

What was clearly God working appeared when the craft items started to come in people asked how they could help me prepare (including a family who took most of the work!). Before I knew it I only had about 10% of the prep work to do myself! I was amazed that (almost) everything I bought in the store was either on sale or had a coupon. The most amazing items were more than half of the fabric was donated (more than $50 worth) and the paint. I wasn't going to buy paint since we didn't need very much of it, but when I realized the tempera paint was only $2 a bottle and I only needed 2 bottles I figured that wasn't too bad, but the acrylic paint is another story. A small bottle is around $3 and I'd need quite a few bottles since they were so small. When I figured I'd check the price I noticed the small bottles were on sale for $1. I figured that's an awesome price, but it's still a little more than I want to spend for the amount I need. I then noticed a mostly empty rack of price tags that read "$.49" and wished that was the paint I needed. When I looked again I noticed there were huge bottles of yellow paint the exact shade I was looking for! I grabbed a bottle. I thought, "Man, if only there was brown we'd be set." When I looked again there was one brown bottle of paint! I was so excited I couldn't help but start thanking God right there in the store aisle! I began to think about how much paint I'd need and realized it would be nice to have a second bottle of brown, but there was only one bottle. I went back to the aisle and low and behold there was another brown bottle of paint! For the price of the on sale little bottles I got the big bottles of paint for the same price! THANK YOU GOD!

Things like this were happening all over the place when it came to VBS planning and prep - including cutting 200 pieces of cardboard. I had forgotten about the cardboard and the week before VBS I realized this was on the donation list that I couldn't necessarily buy in the store. I prayed and asked God to provide the cardboard we needed. I went to Facebook to ask anyone if they had any boxes we could have for VBS. When I signed on I noticed I had a message waiting for me since about the time I started praying. A man in the church was cleaning out his garage and had a lot of cardboard he was going to throw out. I called him to let him know how much I needed and asked if he could guesstimate how much he had. He said he most likely had what I needed! I then began to think about how I was going to cut all this cardboard and punch the holes (they were for the cover of miner's journals). I then noticed an area in the VBS craft guide I hadn't noticed before - the helpful hint section. In the section it said to use a certain type of saw I've never heard of before. I called a friend who I know has a lot of tools and asked if he knew what that saw was. He said he not only knew what the saw was, but that he had both kind! I asked if he would be willing to cut the cardboard and drill the holes (also noted in the helpful hint section) and he gladly said he could help. I love how within an hour I went from minor crisis to completely worked out with God guiding every step!

Since crafts were well underway I began to think about how I didn't have much to do and how nice this was. Then I realized if I didn't make name tags and start orchestrating the leaders for the other ares of VBS this was all going to come to a screeching halt! I realized God took care of the crafts and prep so I would have time to lead the others helping. I assured the snack guy he was qualified for the job and helped him go to the store and get what he needed. When the recreation girl was asked to decorate I gave her some pointers and let her work. When she'd come to me with her ideas I helped work out the kinks. The day before VBS there were about a dozen youth who came to help decorate, make name tags, and help with anything else I needed help with. When it was all said and done the sanctuary looked like you were walking into a forest with a stream full of gold (including gold rocks that by the end of VBS were gratefully taken by VBS goers). I was amazed at how well VBS was coming together and all who were able to help.

As the week went on there were a few hiccups, but overall I only heard wonderful reviews from parents and children alike! In my book that way over compensates for the hiccups for a great success! I guess I should have realized from the start that God had a plan all along and all I had to do was trust in Him and follow along.