Sunday, August 6 - Share The Load
Exodus 1:8-2:10
Deborah Laforet
Share the Load
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by
your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
On Thursday, at our Closing Celebration with the VBS families, I was quizzing the
children to see who could remember which bible story we were exploring each day. When we
got to day three, someone mentioned Jethro and then I heard the phrase, “Share the load.” To be
honest, it was strange to hear that phrase come out of a five year old.
Let’s see how much of the story our campers can remember of the story of Jethro and
Moses. (Ask campers.)
I have been doing VBS here since 2013. There were some years when I felt very alone
and on my own. It’s a lot of work and volunteers can be difficult to come by, for three reasons:
people vacation during the summer, it takes a lot of energy and is just too much for some, and
many work during the day and can’t take the time off. There are always those who could help
with snack one day or those who would lead a workshop in the morning, but no one who could
lead the whole camp with me. The first few years, I relied on youth, then I relied on three to four
young people who were hired through Canada Summer jobs to help run the camp, and then, a
few years ago, we hired Tracy.
What a difference this made! She and I have worked together the past few years, figuring
out each other’s strengths, our rhythms, and learning how we work best together. Camp is still a
LOT of work and I can’t even imagine doing it on my own anymore. It’s wonderful to have
another adult in the building who is paid to do this work alongside me. I think we make a pretty
good team.
2 of 5
Like Moses, I sometimes have to be encouraged to stop doing it all on my own and ask
for help. How many of you fall into that category? I think our society encourages us all to be
independent and capable, and able to juggle several tasks or several roles at once. People are
applauded and given accolades for being this kind of leader. They are lifted up and given
awards.
In all of the stories we explored at VBS, no one did the work alone. Our first story was
about Jesus and how he built a team of disciples. Our second story was about the important
women who saved the life of Moses when he was small. Day four was about the magi, which
traditionally are numbered three, but there actually is no number in the bible, who travelled
together, following the star to a new born king. And on the last day, Friday, we learned about
some people who helped the apostle Paul escape from a city in a basket over a wall. Jesus,
Moses, the Magi, and Paul could not do God’s work alone.
I have to tell you another story about camp. At one of our debriefing sessions after camp
with all the youth, one of them shared with us that there was a rumour going around with the
children that the church was selling their property. They weren’t quite sure who had started the
rumour but they thought it was quite astounding. So I took a moment to clarify to the group that
the rumour was actually true.
They were shocked and even mortified. Some of these youth have been coming to St.
Paul’s camps since they were very small. I assured them that we were not closing, that the
church was only moving, and that we would probably have camp in this location next year and
possibly the summer after that.
I explained that this congregation just couldn’t keep up this building anymore. We didn’t
have the money to keep repairing and updating it and we didn’t have the volunteers to keep
3 of 5
caring for it and keeping it beautiful. Now, I wish I would have connected the Jethro and Moses
story by saying that we were finding partners with whom we could share the load. In order to
continue doing God’s work, we needed to work together with other partners in the community.
God does not expect us to do the work alone. It’s why Adam had Eve, why Moses had his
brother and sister and father-in-law, why Naomi had Ruth, and here’s an obscure one that Jeff
came up with, why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had each other, and why Jesus had - slash
- has disciples and apostles.
None of us can do it on our own and nor should we. May we remember that when we
feel we have to do it all, when we feel like we are a failure because we can’t do it on our own.
Ask for help. May we remember that when we feel like we need to step back and let others do
the work on their own. Offer to help. Life is so much richer and we are so much more effective
and it feels so much better when we are working together, as a community, as a people of God, as
one in Christ. Thanks be to God. Amen.