Neighbors

You know I grew up thinking Halloween is a "bad" day that shouldn't be celebrated. My thoughts on this day have changed significantly the past year. Chris read a book called Fearless Faith last year. It suggested we should embrace this day as a time to get to know our neighbors, not isolate from the world. I thought about this and it makes sense. There is no other time of year that adults and children show up at your door. Last year I was newly pregnant and still quite sick. Looking at chocolate made me nauseas. For those of you who know me well, you know this was cruel for me. Anyways, lots of beautiful and scary children came to our door with big smiles. They laughed at our dogs, who were dressed up like a clown and an angel. Their parents talked with us and we gave them all candy. I tried not to look at the chocolate as I passed it to them. I can think of one particular relationship with a neighbor that started that night for me. So I'm looking forward to this Tuesday. We will open our door wide and welcome them into the warmth. We'll give them candy and smiles. We'll tell our dogs to stop jumping on them, and hopefully have a happy baby dressed as a pink leopard for them to laugh at. We'll get to know more people and be a safe place to stop. We'll love our neighbors, not shut them out. We'll take back October 31st for God's kingdom, one little devil at a time. Happy Day!