Inspiration

Ahhh the beach! I knew it would inspire me!

So, here is what the Lord showed me at the beach. I was able to use this as a devotional for our VBS planning meeting last Sunday.

Sanibel Island is the shelling capital of North America. When the tide goes out, the people come to the beach in droves. Everyone wants to find big, beautiful sea shells! There are rules, however, to shelling. You are not permitted to take a shell off the beach if it still contains a live animal. Doing so can bring you hefty fines. Finding big, beautiful shells becomes much more difficult.

I went out to the sandbars and tide pools along with everyone else in search of big, beautiful shells. I was somewhat disappointed when after about an hour, I only had a handful of shells. Most of the big shells had live animals and could not be taken. I could find them, but I couldn't retrieve them.

Somewhat discouraged, I walked up off the sandbars and noticed a shell mound that most people were neglecting. Many people were walking on it, crunching the shells beneath their shoes. There were clearly no big, beautiful sea shells in piles such as this one.

Something called to me though, and I stooped down to take a closer look. To my surprise, I found exquisite, beautiful, tiny sea shells. These shells were perfectly formed, intricately designed, and void of live animals. Here were the beautiful shells, small, yet ready for the taking. All it took was for someone to stoop down and notice.

I couldn't help but think of the way we sometimes do church. How often do we focus all of our programs and outreach on adults, trying to save the big, beautiful shells? The reality is, for all of our efforts, we're only going to find a few. Yet here are the children, just waiting for someone to stoop down and notice them. They are ready and open to receive the gospel message. If we don't stoop down, someone else will - unless, of course, they are crushed under the feet of those who simply don't care.

That's what we do at VBS. We stoop down and notice children. We walk with them and share the message of salvation through Christ. Many are open and willing to receive.

I gave each volunteer a beautiful, tiny shell that I collected that evening at Sanibel Island as a reminder of why we all take part in this crazy week.