Halloween 2015

For the past month or so, I have been doing a Bible study about the feasts of the Old Testament. As I explored the reasons why the Israelites observed these holy days, I began to think about my own reasons for celebrating holidays. With Halloween fast approaching, it was the one that really began to grab my attention, and I was driven to look within to see the heart of why we, as a family, were choosing to participate. Were we honoring God with this celebration? 

I didn't want to be legalistic, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn't just following the world either...

As I searched the Internet for articles and perspective about why other Christians chose to participate or not, there was a huge chasm of opinions. Finally, I came across an article written by John MacArthur that I really felt put things into perspective. He gave an overview of the history of Halloween from both the pagan roots to the All Saints Day influences, which was very helpful, but then he moved into what that means for us today. He neither encouraged nor discouraged the celebration of this holiday in his approach to this topic; instead he got down to the bottom line - everything we do should be done in a way that we point people to Christ, for His glory alone. He said that if we choose not to participate, it can set us apart and provide opportunities for people to question us about our beliefs, opening doors to spread the gospel. On the other hand, MacArthur explained that taking part in the parts of Halloween that don't emphasize evil can also be great springboards for reaching out to others. He explains that Satan is no more active on Halloween than any other day of the year and that our peace at this time when superstitious fears are high can also be a light. 

I have one friend who is definitely a strong woman of God, and every year her family picks a theme and dresses up together to encourage solidarity. Knowing her love for Jesus, I also asked what her thoughts were about participating in this holiday. Her response: "Oh, Lindsay, I know it is so hard! We have chosen to brighten the day with the light of Christ as best we can be focusing on the fun things -- dressing up, celebrating family, being with friends, and enjoying fall tummies and decorations. We know we won't drown out all the yuckiness, but we try to do some."

With all of that in mind, it began to beg the question: what is at the heart of what my family does at Halloween? Well, it definitely isn't the scary stuff....it isn't the superstitions...it isn't darkness... It is light-hearted fun. It is something playful and silly to look forward to as the days get colder and a good chance to get together with other people, to be creative...And for this year at least, my heart felt like it was okay to take part in the fun since we definitely weren't celebrating the dark parts. We'd have to block out the negative influences, but that's just part of our normal day to day living isn't it?

There was one part of our Halloweens in the past where my heart hasn't always been right though, and that is in the area of pride. I wanted to pick out the BEST costume for my kids for the attention of everyone's ooohs and ahhs. I hate to admit that, but if I really look internally, it's true. I heard some moms at Hadley's dance class bragging about their kids' costumes and how they won't even sell them after they're done with them because they didn't want another kid to get to attention for THEIR costume. I listened in shock to some of these confessions only to realize that there were elements of that same pride in my heart as well. I remember last year even being frustrated with Caleb because I had put so much into getting us all into themed costumes and he didn't want to stand up there and take a family picture like I wanted...like the perfect script I had in my head. So while the heart intent of my sweet friend I mentioned above might have been for family unity, mine was vanity, and I had to stop that in its tracks. 

Honestly, starting homeschooling this year, God didn't leave me time for getting too fancy with the costumes this year anyway. I decided early on that the kids were just going to have to pick out of the pile of dress up clothes we had - I was letting go...Making this particular Halloween so much less stressful than in years past when I'd wanted things to look picture perfect.

We started the day with dance class for Hadley, then went to Caleb's soccer game followed by Hadley's, and finally ended up at Granny's around lunch.   

Reid's costume was a hand me down someone had given me when Caleb was small. It was so adorable I saved it, but had never gotten to use it until now. It was a little snug on Reid, but I thought he was pretty cute anyway.

He put up with us admiring him for a few seconds but didn't think much for that hood!

Granny, I can't believe you are making me pose like this for a picture!

Now for the good stuff!

Hadley was the one who knew for months exactly what she wanted to be - Elsa, just like pretty much every other little girl for the past couple years. Mommy didn't push her to come up with something more unique...I just "Let it go....let it go..." :)

Caleb's Transformer costume was a yardsale find we picked up two days before Halloween. Originally, we were thinking he'd be Spiderman or the Hulk since he already had both of those outfits, but then he decided he didn't want to dress up - that he just wanted to be a "normal kid" for Halloween. At one point he told me he didn't even want to trick-or-treat, which would have made things simple on all of us. But, when Stacey invited him to come down and trick-or-treat with Dan, his tune changed! At that point he announced that he wanted to be a spider. (What? I definitely didn't have time to get that together on such late notice.)

Remembering that I had just picked up the Transformer costumes from a friend who was selling them, I quickly decided to offer those as an option instead of holding them back as a surprise like I had originally planned. Immediately, he changed his mind....a Transformer it was....and shew I was off the hook...

One of my favorite parts of the day was watching Reid waddle around in this costume.

Checking out all their loot from Granny

Look who showed up with more treats! Is that you under there, Auntie Beth?

We love reasons to all get together!

For probably 2-3 years now (maybe more), Stacey has been inviting us to come to Gainesville to trick-or-treat with them, but for one reason or another it hasn't worked out. This year was were able to go though thankfully. We had a little pizza together first and then let these wound up little ones outdoors to start their candy hunt.

This was Reid's first time trick-or-treating. Hadley went once before when she was only a year and a half old, so she didn't have any memories of it either, making it a unique experience for both her and her little brother.

I could hardly stand how cute this little giraffe was waddling up one driveway after another after the bigger kids. That over stuffed rear end was just too adorable.

Our first house

The whole process was really a teaching opportunity too as Dave and I were able to instruct the kids about good manners - "remember to say thank you," "don't walk through people's bushes or yards," etc. I was so proud that at one point when a person told Caleb he could pick two pieces of candy and my son accidentally picked up three, he was honest and stopped the person before they went back inside to tell them he needed to give one back. They, of course, let him keep it, and he received some praise from Mommy for doing the right thing as well. Being a light...that's what it's about, Caleb!

One of the houses was pretty grotesque and scared little Reid, but most of the evening was pretty tasteful. Hadley got a little frustrated towards the end because she couldn't keep up with the older kids but didn't want to skip any houses to do so. In combination with all the sugary treats they'd had earlier (which they aren't used to), it wasn't long before a meltdown ensued. Instead of pushing it, Dave just took the younger ones back to rest and calm down while Caleb and I finished the street with his cousins. 

While there were still a few stressful parts of that busy day, there are also moments that I can definitely see God's hand - reminders for us to slow down and not focus on the small things, that those words of instruction to our children are sinking in, and that we are to be lights in the darkness everyday not just on Halloween. I'm glad I stepped back to think about it this year instead of going through the rushed motions that can blur life.