Who's Ministering to Whom?

YEE-HAW! 

Vacation Bible School is always a week full of so many emotions: excitement, nervousness, exhaustion-- oh, what a week it is!  And I have to brag that Second Baptist Church does an AMAZING job with VBS! I had the privilege of teaching between 20-30 2nd graders about the fruit of the spirit last week-- specifically love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness.  Don't worry! I had 4 other adult/youth helpers to assist me with this wild bunch.  It was definitely a TEAM effort!  With every passing day it was becoming more and more apparent that while I was the "teacher"-- who was really teaching whom?  Sure, I was quoting scripture and re-telling bible stories but who did God really want to deal with: them or me?

Every day I had to pick one child that had exhibited the particular "fruit of the spirit" that day.  Throughout the day I had to study my kids to figure out who was showing love, joy, peace, etc.  As I observed their behavior, I was humbled and in awe of some of their actions.  Do I show love like Emmanuel does by befriending Sam, a less popular kid in the class?  Do I show joy like Makenzie-- always a smile on her face and always such a great outlook in all situations?  Do I show peace like Danae who is always so level-headed and easy-going even while in conflict? Do I show patience like Weston who always waits his turn and is never hasty?  And do I show kindness like Faith who puts others first and makes their needs a priority?

Who knew that 2nd graders were so profound?!  Everyday I was challenged to be a better example not only for my VBS class but for my family at home.  God promises that he will chisel away at us everyday, making us more like Him, if we allow Him to.  I sure appreciated his daily reminders last week as He worked to make me a better me.  Isn't it just like God to pull a bait-n-switch?  I thought I was volunteering to minister to a bunch of 2nd graders when all along He had bigger plans to teach me a thing or two about... me!