Through Another’s Eyes

It’s Vacation Bible School season here in south Arkansas!  It’s that time of year when churches see the culmination of months of planning, preparation, recruiting, and decorating to provide a few days of fun biblical teaching for the children of the community.

In rural Arkansas – and I would assume in many other parts of the country – there are many small churches that don’t quite have the resources to put together a full-blown VBS experience.  Our church has always been blessed to be able to invest in a great VBS week, but this year we’ve had the extra blessing and privilege of being able to bring a couple of smaller churches alongside us to do a joint VBS.  We have two nights under our belts so far, and it’s going great!

It is interesting sometimes to bring strangers into a situation that is totally familiar to us.  It opens our eyes to things.  It makes us a little more aware of our faults and shortcomings, but it also reminds us of our blessings.  It allows us to look a little more openly at both our shortcomings and our blessings and maybe approach them from a new perspective.

Last night, the perspective of two strangers made me look at my eight-year-old in a new light.  As I’ve mentioned before, Olivia loves to be a helper.  Last night was no exception.  For VBS, I am running the “teacher’s lounge,” a place where teachers can come to get something to eat and be in a relaxed environment away from the heat, kids, and decorations for just a few minutes before digging back in again.  Olivia wanted so badly to help me set it all up yesterday.  I gave her a few assignments, but I also had to watch her closely to make sure she wasn’t digging in her nose before rearranging the forks (holding them by the tines, of course) or rubbing the insides of  the cups with her less than clean fingers.  I was trying hard to give her tasks and clear instructions while fighting against her tendency to dive in with reckless abandon and sometimes do more harm than good.

In the room with us were two ladies, one from each of the two partnering churches.  One was my partner, helping me make sure the room was set up properly.  The other was an elderly lady working in the craft room.  Both of them commented over and over about what an incredible helper Olivia was and how she must be such a blessing at home!  (All the while Olivia was digging in her nose yet again before reaching for the forks to make sure they were just so!)  I commented that, yes, she was a good helper, but we were still having to teach her some things that she just couldn’t seem to grasp.

That’s when the elderly lady said, “But she’s just a child!  She’ll learn in time.”

I needed to be reminded of that.  I need to be reminded that Olivia is such an incredible child.  Even at her worst moments, she’s really pretty well behaved.  She is smart.  She is passionate.  She is caring.  She is happy.  She is a blessing.  I love her so deeply, but sometimes I get caught up in the training of her and miss the progress.

Sometimes it just takes stopping and looking through someone else’s eyes.