A Special Throw Back for Fall

- October 13, 2022 (Originally penned in an older blog I used to have that no one read - But Truth does not change - a few details were adjusted to reflect our current year plans for the weekend!) 

I was withdrawn from a school when my mom got wind that a Halloween festival was being hosted in the field behind the playground, and the nuns could be seen wearing witch hats from her kitchen window. We did not celebrate Halloween. Instead, our church hosted an All-Saints’ Eve, a festival of harvest and a celebration of saints. There were games, cake walks, candy treats, and costumes. Everyone was challenged to prepare biblical costumes. The intent was to keep the event family-friendly - Jesus-centered. We had your typical shepherds, a few sheep or other ark animals, the occasional Mary, and so on. But every year, someone would knock it out of the park. I remember one All Saints'. Eve, my sister’s gown was beautiful. She was Esther the Queen, and boy, did she look it! (Esther Chapter 2) It was years later, in adulthood, that we were shockingly informed that my mother sacrificed her own handmade wedding gown to make the beloved costume. My father typically went as a Centurion. A motorcycle helmet and a bit of duct tape to secure the bristle broom plume always took his costume over the top. But leave it to the teenagers to find a way to pull out all the obscure, crazy stories in the Bible. We had John the Baptist…. or at least his head… show up just once and all the toddler moms were in a frenzy! (Insert eye roll here – they followed the rules - Mark 6:14-29) Even in all of our efforts to steer clear of the world’s traditions, they still had a way of sneaking in like a lion on the prowl.

Over the years, interest in All Saints’ Eve was lost to the more traditional and worldly spectaculars of Halloween. Trick or treating and Hallapaloozas took over, and my children only know folktales of the Biblically themed All Saints Eve celebrations we used to enjoy. I've still done my part to limit their costumes to wholesome characters, but it is a slippery slope, as “just trick or treating at Big Daddy and Gigi’s” turned into a night of trick or treating in Big Daddy and Gigi’s neighborhood and eventually added the haunted house at the front of the neighborhood as the desire for more continued to grow. 

I question every year how to right the path, but have remorsefully allowed my children’s temporary joy and the lack of better plans to give way to the activities and company of family. I wonder, though, is it necessary to have a plan? Should we feel the need to fill this night or season with anything at all? And if so, should it be intercessory prayer binding evil spirits and dark forces that would seek to harm us and our children? Or are we ok with attending or even hosting harvest festivals, trunk or treats, 'kid-safe' cul-de-sac candy stops, or All Saints’ Eve celebrations? What if we set them apart and do not have them conform to the rest of the world’s expectations for Halloween? Is it acceptable then? I know for sure the answers lie somewhere between our freedoms to live in the world and still not be of the world (John 15:19) and instructions to not conform to the patterns (routines, traditions, ways…) of the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds to find God’s will in this matter (Romans 12:2). 

Our family has traditionally celebrated the season of fall. Specifically, we carve pumpkins, we make candy apples, we make our own costumes for school costume parades, we watch “Charlie Brown’s Great Pumpkin Patch,” and we eat a lot of candy! When I look at this list, there is nothing that stands out to me as evil or unacceptable. But I do question, how do we look different than the rest of the world? Where have we been transformed? I can’t find a good answer. So, we will continually remind our children of the constant battle between good and evil and teach them the ways of spiritual warfare. We will do our part to prepare them to defeat evil by outfitting them with truth, righteousness, the Gospel, faith, salvation, and the Holy Spirit so that when evil comes, they are ready to stand firm (Ephesians 6:11-17). We will also take every opportunity to transform what the world has offered as a chance to spread the Gospel to others and to open our mouths to sing of His goodness in all seasons. I mean, after all, our battle for Truth and Life on October 31st is no different than any other day of the year. 

There are many opportunities this time of year. One option would be to stay home and fight from our knees, and there is value and necessity in this option. We need prayer warriors and spiritual intercessors. (James 5:16) Another option is to be feet on the ground, offering alternatives and Truth in a world full of tricks! This is the route we have gone for the last few years. (Mark 16:15) A third is to simply ignore the hype and continue our lives as regularly scheduled - allowing the world to exist around us but not to dictate or interfere with our enjoyment of an abundant life! (John 10:10) This year, I have scheduled for us to visit a friend in the upstate and paired it with our love for apple picking at SkyTop Orchard. Next year might look different, and that is OK! Parenting is hard enough without the added pressures from social media telling us where we should and should not feel conviction, or adding the pressure of traditions and annual events we must do.

Let’s not quarrel over which option is better and trust that we are all soldiers in a much more important battle than who does what on October 31st. (2 Timothy 2:4)

As you make your plans for the weekend, just remember that He is our only source for all things good, and we are to seek Him first in all that we do! 

John 14:6 "Jesus answered, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Until next time, keep following the Plott, and I will be praying for us all! 💛