Halloween

Hebrews 4:12
The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

It's that time of year again. Halloween. A day and night that brings out the best and worst of people and in people - especially Christians. I have seen more division in the body of Christ on this one day and this topic than on many others. Some believe that we, as Christians, should have nothing to do with this day at all and hole up in a room together - to not let it "touch" us. Then there is the other camp that agrees there is a dark side to it but that there is also a fun side and choose to celebrate the fun side. I'm sure there are some that get all into the dark side but for the sake of argument, I'm going to leave them out of it this time. I am of the second camp - that there is a fun, light side and I choose to participate in that. A lot of my friends disagree and they are always allowed their opinions. In this "note" I would like to explain my heart in this matter.

First and foremost, God knows my heart. He knows that I will bow before no other God but Him. He knows that I will not be mixing any special potions in a cauldron or worshipping a skull. He knows my heart is for children of all shapes, sizes, creeds, religions, race, etc. to come to know Him in a personal manner. My personal feeling is that the enemy has enough days of the year to influence and touch our children and I am not willing to stand back, hide, and let him have that day all to himself. I will be out there, fighting for the spirits of the children and doing my part to plant seeds and fill voids. After all, it was because someone reached out to me that I am even a member of God's precious Kingdom. Here's my Halloween story:

A long, long time ago, when I was a mere 7 years old, I was invited to a costume party at a local church in the town I grew up in. Back then it didn't seem like Christians were looking for demons under every rock and shying away from Halloween like they do now. My friend Barb attended this church and invited me to go to AWANA (a church program) with her and to come dressed up. My mom was a single mom at the time with no monetary resources to get me a costume. She was already worried about what to scavenge up together for my younger brother and I to go trick-or-treating. Not wanting to let me down, she came up with a game plan. She was working at a steel company at the time in the office and she asked her co-workers for some help. The guys really got into it and together they "designed" my costume. They took the big brown wrapping paper and cut out a dress from it. They used the bright yellow wrapping tape to hold it together along the seams and to fashion a design on the front. They used the same material to make me a headband and fashioned a feather out of paper from the copier machine. They even went so far as to make moccassin-looking covers for my gym shoes. My mother expertly painted my face with the makeup she had on hand - some of which was a darker foundation - and off I went. I had a blast. For the first time in my whole life, I felt like I fit in. I was one of the girls and they all loved my costume. So much so that I even won the contest. I got a gift certificate to a local food store and a coveted ribbon to display in my room. I was on top of the world. I felt loved and accepted at a time when my personal world had been blown to smithereens.

My father had left us two years earlier, a year after my grandmother had died. She had lived with us so it was especially hard on us. Now our home was void of two very important people. Life at home was depressing at best, and downright sad most of the time. My mother was left with three children to take care of and no support coming from my father. My older brother did what he could to help out but he was still in high school too. Times were hard and there wasn't much to smile about except that we were all together. Little did I know at the time, but those would turn out to be some of the happiest days of my childhood. My family history consisted of grandparents and great grandparents who were involved in occult activities. While my parents were never active participants, they never really said any of that was wrong so I didn't have any inkling that not every family believed that. We didn't have any of the practices in our home but I did listen to the stories being told of things that had happened. It was just a part of life as we knew it.

During those days, I know I was left out of a lot of things, both at school and in the neighborhood. Most parents were afraid to let their kids play with me - just in case divorce was contagious - so I didn't have many playmates. At school they didn't have the knowledge or experience to deal with the unique aspects of children coming from broken homes. It was hard on my mom to see us suffer because of it but she was facing her own persecutions from the same people. No longer invited to join in anything for those same fears, she became reclusive unless she was at work.

While winning felt good and made my day, what happened after that was really even better. When I came home and told my mom "we" won, she was ecstatic. Then when I handed her the certificate, she was in tears - of happiness. You see, her paycheck wasn't due for a couple of more days and we literally had nothing left to eat. With that certificate she was able to get groceries and feed us all for the rest of the week. Nobody knew we needed that except God. My mother was a proud woman and would never reach out for charity. She did the best she could on her own. My brother was the same and Ken and I were too young to understand much except to obey when we were told not to talk about it to anyone. My mother's way of escape was to bury herself in alcohol until she passed out, with Dick joining her when he was home or more often than not, his choice was working. I can't say it was an unhappy home but it never felt right. It was just all we knew. Getting drunk and passing out was the "norm" in our home.

Of course since I was so well accepted at that church, where adults were wide awake and involved, I went back again and again and it wasn't long before a missionary got through to my heart and led me to Christ. As I look back at all I've been through all these years, I can't imagine having come through it without my faith in God. It has been tested time and time again up until this day and I will not waiver. People wonder why I "celebrate" Halloween and get so involved for the kids. Well to answer their questions - it's because someone did that for me. If my friend had not invited me or if the church had not sponsored the costume contest or if my mom had not gotten involved or if I had refused to wear a paper costume in the midst of all those store bought costumes, if, if, if... I would not be here today with the faith I have in our one true God. Barb gave the invitation but it was a whole bunch of people that not only touched my life but also renewed my mother's faith in a God that she had all but forgotten. She didn't stop drinking right away, but her faith grew and for the first time in a long, long time, she had hope. Because through the pomp and circumstance of a Halloween costume party, a prayer that she mentioned to no one but God Himself, was answered. And a whole bunch of prayers more that she made to what she thought was just the wind, for her children. So on Sunday night I will be at the Trunk or Treat at our church, with my car and myself decked out in a Tom Sawyer theme. I will laugh with and ((hug)) the children, I will pass out candy and I will show them God's love. After all Jesus Himself chose to mingle amongst the thieves and prostitutes - He got out INTO the world. He didn't hole up with His Disciples and say "oh well, it's a bad world so we'll just keep to ourselves." Nope I dare to say that Jesus will be right there with me - showing His love to a lost world, not condemning it. How can I do anything less?