Back To (Vacation Bible) School: Part IV

I know it's been a while since VBS ended, (And yes, I did need a long recovery period!) but the real reason I didn't blog about the last two days was because I didn't have pictures! On day four (Thursday) I completely forgot my camera. However, I noticed that someone came in the room and took a picture during one of the sessions. It took me a little while to track that photo down, but here it is (courtesy of Eve):

We set the room up very simply for that day because we wanted all the focus to be on the cross. That was the message on Thursday. Jesus died on the cross to forgive your sins. Will you accept Him? The children were given sad-face stickers and asked to think about whether they would take the punishment for someone else's sin. Then, they were asked to think about a sin they have committed while placing the sad-face sticker on the two outside crosses (not Jesus'). The story was told of how the one man hanging beside Jesus asked if he could be with Him in Paradise. The sad-face stickers from one cross were all moved on to Jesus' cross: a picture of how He took our sin and put it on Himself. The kids were given an opportunity to raise their hands during prayer if they wanted to accept Jesus as their savior.

At this point, I have to tell you about a little girl who was in one of the groups. She couldn't sit down because of a boo-boo, so she stood in the back of the room with me. After the prayer and everything was over her leader came up and asked me if the little girl had raised her hand. I could only shake my head, because I had watched her carefully, just in case. Tears welled up in the woman's eyes. With disappointment in her voice she said, "Of course. She's my daughter." I hugged her, trying to fight back my own tears, wanting to explain to her that I, too, struggle with the uncertainty of my daughters' path to heaven.

The moment has stuck with me. Some parents are sending their children to vacation bible school because it's a place for the kids to be entertained for part of the summer. But other parents are sending (or bringing) their children to vacation bible school in hopes that this time will be the time. And perhaps it is. It is such a privilege to be a part of that, no matter the parental motives.