What a great VBS surprise! at a party of some ole vbs folks yesterday. SURPRISE. In addition to my VBS-fanatic hosts, was Barbara, the then 3-4 year old who held a snowball in July and held Jesus’s teachings in her heart… Oh how she taught me!!! Almost 10 now, such an AMAZING girl… fantastic family… God is good!!!
It’s really true that God encourages encouragers, and what better a scripture than Peter in the Book of Acts being called to a household (of Cornelius) where the Holy Spirit was about to pour Himself out onto them. Peter was interrupted in his speaking because the Spirit was already seeking. See Acts 10
Peter was called to witness that’s there was/is no stopping the Holy Spirit. I can say that too.
Here is Barbara’s story, the Holy Spirit teaching me the teacher… blessed!!!
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Here’s my witness:
I Saw Jesus, 30 July 2015
I have a story about seeing Jesus…. A little 4 year old sweetie – Barbara – I got to witness Jesus in her…
A little 3 year old boy, who truly truly didn’t know any better, yanked her hair so hard it pulled out a big clump. I was there… oh to hear that scream, see the clump pulled out, and see others comfort this little girl. It was so painful, she cried so much…. And her grandma emailed later to say she cried on and off for the rest of the day… Barbara said she didn’t want to go back to VBS because she didn’t want to get hurt again, but she wanted to be with her friends and it was breaking her heart not to be with them. So her grandma urged her to come back to VBS, and we encouraged her grandma, and I said to please tell her how happy her crew leaders and I would be to see her come back… And yes, Praise God, Barbara came back the next day with the biggest smile on her face. Praise Praise Praise.
For the bible lesson, we taught that God has the power to heal… I pretended to be the Fairy Snow Mother with the power of snow (yes I saved 3/4 of freezer with snowballs from February for July), asked if there was anyone I could make feel better with my snowball, nope, as much as they loved holding it – it did not have the healing power that Jesus has…I reminded them that it’s actually God who has the power to heal… “He heals the broken hearted and bandages their wounds”… and that God has the power to forgive.
I was teaching but actually I was the one who was taught that day about Jesus – I witnessed Jesus in Barbara coming back to be with her friends at VBS despite being hurt by someone. I was told by Barbara’s crew leaders that the first thing she did when she came back was to sit down next to the boy who pulled her hair and she said directly to him: “DON’T pull my hair” and then she gave him the biggest hug…. if that’s not showing Jesus is LOVE, I don’t know what is… She was being Jesus – at four years old she was shining Jesus love…
Jesus says I LOVE you, I don’t judge you, and “go and sin no more”. This little girl essentially said: “I forgive you” with her smile, “I love you” with her hug, and “go and sin no more” with her words. Will she forget? I don’t know…. But she forgave that day…. Jesus forgave that day. Jesus says: “They don’t know what they do, Father, forgive them… “
And we are all called to be Jesus as well… Not judge… Just Forgive… Always to Love…
Yes I saw Jesus today… And Jesus smiled…
Debbie Upper 