God Is Stronger Than Anything. VBS Day 4

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

How did it get to be Day 4 already? The songs are all taught. The crafts are almost finished. Our journey through Joseph’s story almost complete. Nostalgia was even setting in a bit already; these young ones can sense the end of this special time together. Hugs come more freely, as do other means of communication that do not require a shared language: piggyback rides, playing with a soccer ball, hide-and-seek, the electric slide.

More than anything, today was shot through with joy. Kids took to the stage to lead “My Lighthouse” with out so much as a by-your-leave from me. I was nearly out of a job! And what a joy to see.

Whence did this joy come? From our detour into the New Testament. Today we followed the women to the empty tomb. We heard the amazing words of the angel of the Lord. We even (perhaps extra-biblically) shot off butterfly-shaped confetti. He’s alive!

Jesus is alive. Christ is risen. Alleluia! What else is there to say?

Tonight, not much. It’s my last night in Martin. VBS ends tomorrow, and I’m scooting out of here a bit early so that I can lead worship on Sunday. Tomorrow night I’ll be in Vienna; I’ll try to write more then. I’m going to go enjoy the night air, which in Martin is a bit different than just about anywhere else in the world. I don’t know. Maybe the air is the same; perhaps it’s the holiness of the ground that sets this place apart.

I’ll leave you with words from our friends at the CCE: “Slowly but surely we are approaching the end of our camp, which is evidenced by today’s group photo shoot. But what does not end is our story together with God, which is stronger than anything.

The featured image is the collaborative portrait of Joseph in paint and fabric. The lower picture is an historically accurate (probably) dramatization of the joy of the women at the empty tomb.