VBS From An Unusual Perspective

A Vacation Bible School Story from an Unusual Perspective…

Usually when you think of VBS wrap-up stories, you think of happy tales of exciting activities featuring our kids and volunteers and the great fun we all had at VBS. All those things are absolutely true. We had a great time in the Surf Shack this year!! Check out our highlight video! But I felt that a different story needed to be told this year.

So it’s 9:30PM on the Monday before Vacation Bible School. I am working after hours on the stage decorating and had to stop to jot down my thoughts before they slip away. Betcha didn’t know that I get to hang out with ghosts (spirits or memories would probably be a more accurate description, but it’s my story, so I’m going with ghosts). So anyway, I betcha didn’t know that I get to hang out with the ghosts of some really great people as I work tonight.

I don’t know when I began to associate VBS with our dearly departed—maybe it is simply a matter of me aging and having more friends leave their earthly home and head on to heaven. Or maybe it is the result of Mark Schulz’s death which has been surprisingly painful for me. Whatever the case, as I think of it, so many of our friends who have died recently played an active role in our Vacation Bible School program—and as I go through the set up this year, they are with me.

Art Cubbon laughed his loud guffaw as I strung together (with a glue gun and the occasional expletive), cardboard tubes with wimpy little pieces of string and pathetic knots in an attempt to mimic the pylons supporting an ocean pier. I could hear him, with all his Coast Guard expertise about the sea and the knots that are so important to seafarers, roaring with happy laughter at my efforts — and the laughter ratcheted up a notch when I bumped one of the “pylons” causing a seriously annoying domino effect which took down the whole “pier” and the ocean behind it, too. In fact, I wonder if perhaps he gave a nudge that caused my hand to slip…. At any rate, the end result worked very well, and I am glad Art came by to cheer me on!

Fred Edwards stopped by earlier in the afternoon when I was using the vacuum that he and Linda procured for special projects at the church. He reminded me to clean the filters so it will work properly. Did you know that Fred and Linda are largely responsible for the fact that our kiddos are not breathing mold spores in the lower level? I am so glad he stopped for a visit. The vacuum filters are washed and drying and will be ready to go tomorrow. We miss you, Fred!

Bob McIlroy, as always, is sitting, long legs stretched half way across the room, in his chair in the office. He touched so many parts of St. Jacob’s, and he left us during VBS so his presence is especially strong. I love setting out his beakers and test tubes and filling them with colored water and oil to make the Science room glow! He also reminds me to empty the dehumidifiers. I am so grateful to him for getting us the first dehumidifiers that started the process of making the Education Wing a healthier, drier place.

Mark Schulz, as the most recently departed of my ghosts, brought tears mixed with smiles with his visits. He showed up quite a lot in fact, and still does. He had to put up with the full regalia of VBS decor for his memorial service and gathering of friends and family, but luckily he enjoyed our VBS insanity (we’ve got pictures to prove it!) He lent a hand when I was moving the trees that he and Holly donated before they moved south to take up residence near Old Dominion where he finally had his dream job. I remember being so happy for him when he got that job! I know he helped with the trees because it was the first year that the one tricky tree didn’t fall apart half way up the stairs!! He was back again when I hauled up to Garnes Hall the air compressor that he gave us to use to inflate VBS props and balloons. I swear that the last time I tried to use it, it was missing a piece. I have no memory of fixing it, so I’ll credit him with that, too. His gift made inflating the kiddie pool and beach balls on the stage for the perfect finishing touch a breeze. And he’ll be back each day, smiling as we fumble through trying to get sound effects to work—a job he did so effortlessly each year but one that continues to elude Angela and me. I miss Mark. And his death came partnered with an overwhelming sense of unfairness and outrage in my mind—one of those “how can God let stuff like this happen” moments that make it all the more difficult for my human brain and heart to understand.

So the beauty and simplicity of VBS —faith from the perspective of a child — helps me remember that I have not to understand, but to accept — and keep enjoying the visits from our ghosts. I hope they come back every year to lend a hand bringing life and love to the Vacation Bible School program at St. Jacob’s.

submitted by VBS Director Krista Smith