This week I've been working as a crew leader for the local Vacation Bible School (technically part of intern life, but also a part of my summer since kindergarten). I'm pretty much convinced that I got stuck with the craziest of all crews in Stuttgart, but even so we've probably had the most fun of all the crews in Stuttgart.
There have been a couple times this summer that I have forgotten that I'm working with military kids, and this week was one of those times. Today, when the craziness in my group got just a little too out of control, my boss talked to one of the kids for me (some extra authority always helps). He afterward informed me that this particular kid's dad has been deployed for 3 months and isn't coming home any time soon. This was the cause for him acting out...he just literally didn't know how to respond to the situation. Realizing this truth about this kid's life opened my eyes and helped me remember just how difficult the military life is for kids. After 19 years of being a military kid having my dad deployed is just a normal part of life, I'd forgotten how hard it could be when we are so young.
Today at VBS we had Sir Valiant the lion teaching us that trusting God helps us stand strong! (Standing strong for God is the over arching theme this week). And the bible verse that accompanied Sir Valiant was Jeremiah 26:4 "Trust the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." I couldn't help but think today how powerful this verse is in the lives of military kids, especially young ones. In our families our earthly fathers aren't always around to serve as the "rock" in our life, but as Sir Valiant taught us today, we can always trust in and count on God because he IS "an ETERNAL rock."
I so desperately hope that today's message hit home for my kids as much as it did for me, but I also hope that it hits home for you as well. We all have something in our lives that should serve as a rock, but is so earthly and broken that it will never last. There is so much hope embedded in Isaiah 26:4...an ETERNAL foundation in God, it literally doesn't get much cooler than that!
Remember - Trusting in God helps us STAND STRONG!
xoxo,
Abby
