The Untaken Picture
This summer, my congregation held a Bible Circus-themed Vacation Bible School. Lessons included Deborah, the Not Bearded Lady; Samson, the Strongest Man; and Daniel, the Lion Tamer. For many years, I’ve taught the memory verse and application session. This year, the two youngest groups were not only the largest classes, but also the biggest we’d ever had. Imagine teaching a dozen 4-5-year-olds a memory verse each day. Even though this group was a circus of its own, their joy and excitement outweighed the chaos.
In every class I teach, no matter how many students or their age, each person gets an opportunity to share. Even if I can’t understand them, I look them in the eye and listen as they speak. I use each person’s name and meet them where they are. No one leaves my class without being seen, heard, and loved.
A few days after VBS, my kids left for church camp, and I was alone much of the day. I spent my extra time helping children and teens create bulletin boards and door signs for the new Bible class year. I planned about four hours for the first group, but we finished in less than two—including taking down the old boards and cutting letters and large shapes. I expected the second group to take about two hours, but it took a little more than four.
The two groups differed greatly in personality, organization, and efficiency, but I enjoyed each person for all their individual talents and quirks.
I rarely remember to take before pictures. I occasionally remember to take pictures in the middle. I always remember to capture the finished bulletin boards.
Interestingly, the finished bulletin boards are visible reminders of something much greater.
It’s not about the “mess” of creating the bulletin boards. It’s about the conversations with the kids, the joking and laughter, and sometimes the quiet moments that remind me why being present matters. I’ve built this trust over years, simply by being present and listening. For some, that began when they were babbling toddlers and preschoolers.
Some moments are simply more important to experience than to photograph.
In both a room full of excited preschoolers during Vacation Bible School and an afternoon with a handful of older kids creating bulletin boards around a table, the lesson is the same.
God is often working in the unseen moments between life’s milestones. Those moments rarely make it into the photo album, yet they’re the ones that shape our hearts.