Watermelon, Fireworks & VBS©

Last week we held our 10th annual Fireworks festival here at the farm to celebrate the freedom our forefathers handed down to us, something really worth celebrating! We had planned to feed everyone fresh watermelon from my wife’s garden, which is a real work of agricultural art again this year. But the problem was that none of her watermelons were ripe! Now what to do because we had promoted the fireworks not only to our extended family but to our church family as well.

So Saturday morning I walked over to my neighbor’s house and explained our predicament to which he replied, “We’re in the middle of harvesting 700 acres of watermelon, I think I can get you some”! Sure enough, within just a few hours he and his wife were unloading watermelons onto our front porch; now “That’s a good neighbor”, State Farm!

Early Sunday morning my son and I got a couple large bags of ice and put the melons in some coolers and just as planned, by Sunday night they were ice cold. And everyone enjoyed ice-cold watermelon as a prelude to the fireworks which my sons enjoy buying and lighting. I might add that they’ve gotten quite good at putting on a sparkling (forgive the pun) fireworks show too!

That was Sunday a week ago. Yesterday evening was the beginning of VBS (Vacation Bible School) at church. I must give a sincere hat’s off to all the preparation that the all-volunteer staff at Union Baptist Church did to make it a super special event for all the kids they were expecting this year. The decorations through the entire church and fellowship hall were jaw dropping; I’m sure any kid who saw them would want to come back every night.

But what they had in decorations they lacked in watermelon. So our “Watermelon neighbor” called to ask if we had any leftover or fresh- from-the-garden melons we could bring. Left over from the fireworks and perfectly ripe we did. So my wife carefully cut off the rinds and cut the melons in cubes and we chilled them down just in time for VBS last night.

So, you might ask what’s the moral of all this melon, fireworks and VBS talk? Here it is as I see it. The best part was not the watermelon or the fireworks but the VBS. That’s because the watermelon fills our tummies for a little while, the fireworks remind us of the freedom we’ve been enjoying for the last 246 years but the VBS will teach our kids about things eternal. And what’s taught will be remembered.

In fact, I keenly remember being taught Bible stories on a flannel graph board with crackers and Kool-Aid during break time when I was a little kid over 70 years ago! I still remember the wooden towel holder I made for my mom in Mr. Middleton’s woodshop right next to the church. And those stories are still shaping my life all these years later. Yes, the VBS made quite an impression!

So, if you want to make a good impression on your grandkids, find a VBS being put on by a good Bible believing church and take them. They may even serve watermelon during break time!

Thanks for reading All About Seniors… see you next week!

PS… the chickens are enjoying the watermelon rinds and seeds this morning!

Bill Milby is a Director of Visiting Angels® of Central Georgia, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at https://www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA/

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