Amanda Mackie is our youth pastor at City of Refuge Fellowship and below is a blog post she wrote about this year’s Kid’s Day titled “Kids Day 2017: For Such A Time As This”
My Saturday started at 6am with torrential rain, thunder, and a tornado warning. Kids Day Burlington 2017 was scheduled to start at 10am at Mitchell Field. Earlier in the week, I watched as the weather constantly was changing for Saturday and I began to pray that it would not rain on Kids Day, but each morning the weather forecast kept calling for rain. And then one day God told me that I was going to have to trust Him because He would take care of the weather. And in order for me to be able to learn to completely trust Him, the weather was not something He was going to change early in the week, but that it was going to be on that day and for His glory. And then I had a dream that I was standing on Mitchell Field on Kids Day and it was beautiful outside and I could see the sun. Now when I woke up I was very confused because while dreaming is not odd for me, having a dream like that was not typical. Typically, my dreams are more like nightmares, but this was different. And I wrestled with it throughout the day, was it God or was it my own desires that caused that dream? And my heart seemed settled that it was God. But the weather forecasts all said that this was impossible…
And then I began to think about the theme for this year which came from Esther 4:14 which says “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
At some point or another we have or will face moments when we are uncertain about the future. We may be sure of the things that God has promised and we know how He feels about us, but we just do not know how it will all happen. Even moments when it seems like all the other voices are saying “go back” or “stay still”, but that voice of God is still saying “go”. That is where we find ourselves with this verse in Esther. She is facing the death of not only her people, but herself and her entire family and she is not being told to run away and hide, but to go forward. And it is when Mordechai speaks the words “for such a time as this” that it seems like her fears, doubts, and worries no longer seem so loud. And it really was not new information, but rather it was a reminder of who our God is and how He has and is positioning her. And that is something we all need to remember. And note that it says relief and deliverance will come from another place. The weight of saving the Jewish people was not resting on Esther’s shoulders, but on God’s, but God wanted her to be a part of His plan. God wanted her to be part of saving her people, His chosen people. All she had to do was be obedient. She had to deny herself, take up the cross and follow Him. He would do the work. Her obedience would overcome every one of her fears, doubts and uncertainty. We miss out on opportunities God has for us, when we make the choice to remain silent, when He is telling us to speak. When we choose to walk in the opposite direction of where He wants us to go.
This was not an easy decision for Ether though, Esther did not jump when she first heard the plea to go to the king, but rather responded with a reason as to why she could not do it. Which, if we are honest, we do this all the time. When faced with a difficult or impossible situation we list all the reasons why we cannot do something or why certain plans will not work. We try to justify our inactions.
But God puts us in positions in order to use us to do His will. So, who are we going to choose to follow? It might be easy to sit here and say we are going to follow God, but what do the choices we make say? The choices that we make determine whether we will serve God or the gods of this world. Joshua 24:14-15 says this “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua made a commitment to God. He trusted in Him fully and was not going to be swayed by the choices of others. And he was going to set an example of living by that decision. The way we live shows others the strength of our commitment to God. The way God led him was not just about “Joshua”, but about the all people God wanted to reach through Joshua. Our lives matter to God, very much, and that is true. But it is not just about us as individuals, but as a whole body of people. And God wants to use us, to reach others, to show them His character and to glorify His name so that others can be redeemed.
And that is where myself and our Kids Day planning team found ourselves. We were sure that God had told us that He was going to take care of the weather. That He was going to take care of this impossible situation. And He was not calling us to change the weather ourselves, but to be obedient by going forward with His plan for Kids Day. And so, we told everyone that Kids Day was still happening, we woke up that morning, got ourselves ready while hearing the rain and thunder outside, and got drenched while loading up the cars.
And then it happened. We arrived at the field, the rain stopped, and the sun began breaking through. And the other crazy part is God not only took care of the weather, but He protected the field. When I arrived, I parked on the street so I could get out and check the field because it should have been soaked and muddy and I was worried we would tear it up by driving on it to unload, but it was solid. There were no puddles in the grass or areas of mud. And by 10am it was as if it had not rained at all. The field was dry, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, there was a nice cool breeze, and everyone showed up!
The theme this year was “I was created to be loved, known, heard, seen, bold, valued, and strong”. And it is impossible to deny those things when you are literally surrounded by the provision and presence of God; whether I looked down at the dry grass, up at the blue sky, or felt the breeze go by me, there was God. He provided. He saw not only us, but He saw each one of the 500 people who stepped foot on that field. 500 people who God used us to show that they are seen and loved by Him. 500 people who got to enjoy a free fun filled day of inflatables, face painting, photo booth, marble painting, a toddler area, and awesome music. 500 people who were treated to a Chick-fil-A lunch and Rita’s water ice. And 500 people who heard the Gospel message and learned about and experienced the character of Jesus through a message, puppet shows, dances, a human video, and the all of the volunteers!
Does God love Burlington? Has God called us to Burlington? Will God provide? Can God be trusted? Does God desire for unity? Those questions can all be answer with “God changed the weather so that Kids Day Burlington 2017 would happen” A day where several churches and community groups come together to show the people, especially the kids, of Burlington that they are seen and loved by God.
God did the impossible in every detail of Kids Day this year. And there are other promises God has spoken to my heart and I am sure your heart as well and I cannot tell you how He will provide or what the details will be, but I know that He will provide, that He sees each of us, that we have not be skipped, and that we can trust Him 100%.
To view more pictures from the day please click the link below!
Kids Day Burlington 2017 Pictures