Saturday, October 30, 2010

Halloween

For the past 12 years - I have tried to hide from Halloween. It's evil. Or is it? Years ago, a wonderful friend of mine asked me why "we" (Christians) let the enemy have all the fame and glory on Halloween. Why not reclaim it for Christ? Hmm... what a clever thought!

So for a few years - our family did harvest parties. At churches. Because that's reclaiming the day for Christ right? A church spending copious amounts of money and resources so Christian kids can play games and get loads of candy. Well it may have been reclaiming the day for Christ on the church's behalf - but I have to be honest - it was not on mine. It was a safe hiding place. I never did anything unique or special to give God glory or to share Him with anyone - at these harvest parties.

This year is different, for a few reasons:
  1. Our church isn't hosting a harvest party
    That is the sad truth... our church not hosting a harvest party is the catalyst for change. Nothing I did.
  2. Our kids are older - they have an interest in some of the "creepy stuff"
    We have a 9 year old boy in the house. He owns sweatshirts, shoes, t-shirts and I'm guessing countless toys with skulls and crossbones. So how do I now tell him he can't do a skeleton on his pumpkin. Wait - when did a skeleton become evil anyhow?
  3. God has planted a holy discontentment in my heart.
    After realizing our church wasn't hosting a party - He began to give me a holy discontentment towards my own view of Halloween. He's been teaching me in some subtle and some very direct ways that Halloween provides a unique opportunity to build community in our neighborhood. How many other times a year are you encouraged to go visit neighbors, unannounced and interact with them?
So what are we doing about it? We're going trick or treating! That's right. We're going trick or treating in our neighborhood. We're going to go be a part of our community. And next year - we're going to consider how we can make a difference for Christ - in a way that honors and pleases Him - but speaks the common language of our community. At this brainstorming stage - I am seeing a bounce house, disco ball, Toby Mac on the stereo and some seriously good - high quality candy. We'll be praying about it - seeking His will on how we're going to claim this day for Christ!
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2 comments:

  1. JoelleOctober 31, 2010 at 8:46 AM

    Interesting, Tamy. Scott was just telling me that in the mid-west people open their garages put out tables/chairs and food and people actually stop to chat and hang out. The kids also have to tell a joke before getting their candy.

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  2. MaidenSongOctober 31, 2010 at 12:11 PM

    I think Halloween is one of the most unique community-building holidays. It not only encourages interactment between neighbors by knocking at doors and announcing "trick or treat", but it reinforces trust. We trust our neighbors to scare our children and ourselves in a fun, safe manner. We trust the treats that they give us will be for good fun and not for harm. We trust that at the end of the night, our community will be all the stronger and all the safer because we all know one another and trust one another. It may be a dark and scary holiday, but what makes the dark and scary fun and acceptable is knowing that our safety is in trustworthy, loving hands.

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