By Vicki Scott
Vacation Bible School was in full swing last week at First Baptist Church Reeltown. I know that for a fact since all four of our grandchildren attended. My husband Alan and I planned to help out when needed. I thought I would be put in the kitchen, but I was wrong, because the kitchen had 15 volunteers. What a blessing!
My hopes for a good station were shattered when my No. 3 grandchild, Tyler Kate, wanted me to stay with her. Her class had 25 four-year-olds, none of which she knew. Tyler Kate is dainty and a little shy with big bright blue eyes and blonde hair. I cannot see how she is so little, because she is an eating machine. Anyway, without the ability to say “no” to her, I told Tyler Kate I would stay with her.
Shortly after I made that decision, our Greek Goddess of a daughter-in-law, Machi, walked in with Addison (Beans) Victoria, our youngest grandchild. Machi and her friend Ashlin were reporting for duty in keeping tabs on Beans and the other three-year-olds. Needless to say, the attention span of a three-year-old is basically five minutes. The full nursery featured three-year-olds down to babies, with no ages in between. Noticing the age difference and that there were two other teachers in the nursery, Ashlin and Machi came up with a plan.
After some deliberation and decorations, they took those Energizer Bunny three-year olds into another classroom to teach them. The winged it the first night and succeeded. The VBS leaders were sending materials continuously, so the children learned about Jesus. What a team effort!
The second night ran smoother with prizes for good behavior and material that had been reviewed. They were rotated to the kitchen to eat and then to the music room, where they learned the VBS theme song and “This Little Light of Mine.” When they were finished, the children were escorted to their room to learn bible verse and hear a bible story about Peter. An arts and crafts session was followed by a visit to the playground.
By the day, everyone was beaten down. Beans had been in daycare all day, while our other grands had been swimming all day. Beans was attempting to be the line leader and Tyler Kate was trying to pass her in line. An altercation ensued, and I stood in the middle trying to break it up, only for these two waist-highs to reach around me and tag each other. As soon as we regained a little control, two boys in the four-year-old class got tangled up. It took some doing, but both problems were eventually resolved, thank goodness.
Back to class, we had a spirited discussion about how Jesus loves us even during our bad days. I am not sure what I said, but it seemed to stay in the children’s mind the rest of the week. I could not make that happen again if I tried; I was beat down as well. God was in control.
Ashlin and Machi did a wonderful job with those children, as I know everyone else did. It was a lot of hard work, and a lot of heart and soul went into it. It brought back memories of when I sent Eva to VBS at Reeltown when she was about three years old.
Matthew 19:14: “But Jesus said, ‘Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”