Stewardship and Me

Stewardship and me

When I was 19, I found myself spinning my wheels. I had gotten home from Concordia, in Ann Arbor, and was working at Kings Island with no real plans for the future. My idea, my dream, of being a Deaconess had taken a hard hit and I didn’t know what God wanted me to do when I “grew up”.

My faith in God was being tested during this time as well. I’d read the Bible and go to Church, mostly every Sunday when I wasn’t working at KI but I felt like something was missing, something I was supposed to be DOING but wasn’t and I was getting restless. Stewardship Sunday had come around again and I didn’t give it much thought. After all, what could *I* do?

Well. God showed me exactly what He wanted me to do for that particular summer. I received a call from the VBS director, I’m not even sure who it was that year, asking if I’d like to “take on the task” of teaching the 7th and 8th grade kids. I said yes without really thinking about what I’d be taking on. I mean, I wasn’t much older than these kids! It would be fun, right?

When I look back on it, it was fun but it was also one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I had no clue what I was doing and figured the kids knew it. But I had really good kids, for the most part. Tony Creeden, Heather Ufford, Jason Goolsby, George Summers kids from the neighborhood. I’d come home each day wiped out, although my Mom would tell you that’s because I’m just NOT a morning person and having to be UP at 9 in the morning is really just not my thing, it was more than that. I didn’t know it then but, I was feeling fulfilled by the daily Bible study.

After that week, I said I wasn’t going to do it again. Yeah I had fun but I didn’t feel like the kids got ANYTHING out of it and that I just wasn’t a good teacher.

Then the next summer rolled around. Stewardship Sunday came again and I started getting that itchy, “I should be doing something about this” feeling again. Yep, I got the call…”Can you teach again this summer?” I quickly said yes and proceeded to have an even better, and harder, time than the year before. But something was different - and I realize now that it was my faith in Jesus. It was growing. I was eager to plan out each day’s lesson and I looked forward to the questions the kids would ask me. And believe me, they asked some very interesting questions.

So I eagerly agreed when I was asked to take on the 7th and 8th grade Sunday School class. It couldn’t be much different from teaching VBS one week a year, right? Believe me when I say it was night and day. Sure I only had them one hour a week but it was every week! I had to be awake! And *I* was in charge!

That first year was full of learning. Mostly on my part, I’m afraid. But even as I would rant and rail about “these kids are driving me nuts!” I loved them. I loved that they were full of questions and that they would challenge me to answer something. They became my friends and they helped me in ways they probably will never know.

21 years later, as I look back on that first VBS week, I realize that through God, these kids have given me something more precious than gold. Through all the questions, the Bible Studies, the lesson planning, the hours I’ve spent researching this or that topic, they’ve given me my rock solid faith in Jesus Christ. This faith in Jesus keeps me going in the dark days of depression. This faith that, when I was diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago helped me to realize and truthfully say “At least it’s a win-win situation. Either I get better and I win or I go HOME and I WIN!”

Through the innocence of these kids, the Holy Spirit has given me comfort, joy and peace to know in all situations, God is there.

So, don’t hesitate when you get that call that says “hey, can you do “whatever” for St Mark’s?” because through it, God WILL strengthen you even as He uses you to strengthen others.