Disappointment Debunked

"Child," said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own."

~ Aslan in The Horse and His Boy

I suppose I should have expected it, and in a way, I did. Seven days of enacting all the planning and excitement of VBS has plumb wore me out. This was my fourth year directing VBS at my church. God planted the wildly huge idea of VBS in my brain at the ripe age of fifteen. My church is small--like 80-people- in-the-congregation-on-a-good-day small. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with smallness. But we do, as in other areas, desire to grow in this area. Lakeway Community Church has had its share of ups and downs, like every other church. Our Sunday morning kids ministry has been on the downswing for a while now. We have around 3 "regulars" from birth to 5th grade.

The secondary goal of VBS in my mind has always been to attract kids to our scant children's ministry.  You know what? I have not seen that goal realized. Let me tell you--it is disappointing.  We have a widely un-churched region right next door, and our ministry is somehow faltering. This is highly discouraging to someone who has been going to the same church my parents helped start since the year I was born.

But the primary goal of VBS is far more important than the second. This is what energizes me personally. Through VBS, we have the opportunity to share the incredible love of God. We only have a week to cram in all this wonderful truth, but the message remains clear, and, especially this VBS where trusting God has been the primary theme, the Bible points have really hit home. I want our VBS to take kids one step further in their relationship with God, whether it is that very first step or somewhere along the path of fostering a relationship with the Creator and Savior of the universe. I believe that goal was realized, and I praise God for that! And we sure had fun too!!!

Disappointment in efforts is inevitable. From my experience, if you are afraid of disappointment, it most certainly will come. Fear of disappointment does not stop my action-hungry heart, but when it comes, I must make an extreme effort to focus on what matters:

who God is and what He has done in my heart.

That is all that I can ever really know of my "effect" on any person or thing. All the rest is guesswork, because I'm trying to look into other people's stories. Sometimes I get super distracted, trying to act "detective" and play God in deciphering what has worked and what has not, who is pleased and who is disheartened. It doesn't work. It just doesn't. Stop the analyzing. Be still.

The fact is, if I am seeking to follow God, I know He can fill in the gaping holes in my weak, mangled efforts.

We don't all get to see God do something as spectacular as bring long-dead bones back to life (Ezekiel 37.)

This is the battle against disappointment: when what we see doesn't match up with what we believe. Bring these dead bones to life! Stir up some action--visible results please! Yup--that's what I want!

In order to hear and comprehend the mighty roar of the Lion, I must put my hope in my mighty God and not in my own "achievements" or "disappointments." Only then will I find strength to soar on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31.) Then I will be able trust God, leaving my fears behind.

Get a peek into our Sky-flying VBS week at LCC by watching this slideshow. :D