Every year on our summer mission trip I have worked with kids club. It’s easy for me. I'm good at it. I play the guitar, dance like a fool and chase kids. I am a teacher and worked at a Before and After School Program in college. This year I wanted to be pushed outside my comfort zone. So I said, "NO KIDS!" I wanted a challenge. I was excited to finally get a change to do some manual labor for the Lord.
When I heard I was going to paint I was pumped. I wanted to sweat. I wanted a sunburn. But as we prepared to head for our first of two days of work at this location I was really disappointed. I learned that we wouldn't be painting houses. We would be painting murals for a vacation bible school at an inner-city church. I was really disappointed. This was not what I had envisioned in my mind's eye. The work wasn't hard enough. The task was too much fun. It was too in my comfort zone. I really wanted to sweat. I really wanted a sunburn.
We showed up at the large Latino church and found a the supplies ready for us, a massive amount of tempera paint, six huge canvases and instructions to paint a variety of scenes for a pirates and treasure theme. We went to work. I had a long face.
At the end of the first day as we prepared to leave the gymnasium where we were painting, I looked back at the large unstretched canvases. Mostly just underpainting was completed and they looked a long ways from finished. My spirits were low. No sweat. No sunburn.
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"
Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 1esus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
John 6:8-13
When I heard I was going to paint I was pumped. I wanted to sweat. I wanted a sunburn. But as we prepared to head for our first of two days of work at this location I was really disappointed. I learned that we wouldn't be painting houses. We would be painting murals for a vacation bible school at an inner-city church. I was really disappointed. This was not what I had envisioned in my mind's eye. The work wasn't hard enough. The task was too much fun. It was too in my comfort zone. I really wanted to sweat. I really wanted a sunburn.
We showed up at the large Latino church and found a the supplies ready for us, a massive amount of tempera paint, six huge canvases and instructions to paint a variety of scenes for a pirates and treasure theme. We went to work. I had a long face.
At the end of the first day as we prepared to leave the gymnasium where we were painting, I looked back at the large unstretched canvases. Mostly just underpainting was completed and they looked a long ways from finished. My spirits were low. No sweat. No sunburn.
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"
Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 1esus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
John 6:8-13
That night I read about the boy at the seashore. I wanted to be the boy. I wanted to make twelve baskets more. But how? I had to trust that God knows more than we do. I had to trust His will over that vision in my mind's eye.
The next day we arrived with a new passion for our work. We vowed to get as much done as we could in that last day at this site. We dove into the work and really became a team. As the paintings came together there was something really magical about them. They were made with such bright colors and the images popped right out. They were wonderful. It became clear to me at the end of the second day, as we rounded up our materials and prepared to leave that God had placed me there for a real reason. He had equipped me with some great art students and some hard workers so that we could use our skills to make this vacation bible school amazing. And the murals were amazing.
God plants little gifts inside of us. I have an artistic talent that is a gift from the creator. On its own its only enough to help me at work and on my creative endeavors. But when I become that boy at the seashore, when I take what little I have and offer it to the Master, He can take it and multiply it feed thousands. Hundreds of inner-city Latino kids came to that vacation bible school. During that next week they enjoyed the beautiful art that my team made for them a servant’s heart like Jesus showed us. We didn't sweat. We didn't get a sunburn. But we gave a wonderful piece of ourselves to the children of Denver.
God's plan is awesome. Its perfect and its amazing. We should trust Him more to place us where we need to be to make miracles happen.
Savior, guide us to the seashore so that we may give. AMEN!
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