a tale of 2 daddies

we're smack in the middle of VBS in Katy, Texas. Alicia is in charge of games (not just the usual psychological games she plays) and I run herd on the volunteers. I love VBS. I love the panic and confusion of Monday and the well-oiled machine hum of Friday. I love bringing order out of chaos and giving direction to the lost. Although I am not naturally a high energy person, I do enjoy reaching the fever pitch of excitable kids screaming at the top of their lungs.
Amazingly, we had too many volunteers yesterday. Although we had 377 kids (congregation member size 400) we continued to receive volunteers until stations started returning the people I sent to them.
Towards the end of the opening melee, two dads came up to me at different times and said they would be able to help. Not wanting to miss the opportunity for a) the kids to have a adult male leader and b) the dads to have fun serving and being needed, I placed them in already staffed groups, hoping that they would find a way to help out.
I watched from a distance as they awkwardly tried to fit in. That's hard when you're either 3 feet taller than everyone else or 200 pounds heavier, both wearing business clothes. I worried for a moment about whether it would work out or if they would hate the experience and never return to another church again. But then some kid threw up and I forgot about my 2 dads.
Later that day, I was walking by the craft station and I noticed one of the dads working with the kids and I stopped over to see how everything was going. his words: "thanks so much for giving me the opportunity! the kids are so great...they just jumped right in and accepted me. it's mr. c this...and mr. c that...I will have to work my schedule but I gonna be here every day this week!"
After the closing daddy number 2 came by and introduced me to his kids. he was beaming and you could tell he had been touched emotionally by his experienced "I don't see how I can make it before 6, but I'm gonna be here every day!"
So completely amazing how the Holy Spirit works. How good serving and helping others through Christian love opens up chambers of your heart and even heals areas you didn't know were hurting.