Today I went to Walgreens. With my 3 year old and 16 month old in the buggy. Strolling up and down the aisles. And this guy directly above (approximately 5 feet in height) hung from nearly EVERY aisle. Well, it was a variation of this guy above. The ones we saw - had long, balding hair, and a much more evil expression. It was like Tales from the Crypt - in demonic form.
My 3 year old was torn between wanting to look and terrified. He had so...many...questions. What is it? Where does it come from? What does it do?
And I hate that I had to have THIS conversation with him. today. He is so little and while, he is a full-blown 3 year old with a normal sin nature, THIS does not have to be in his thoughts.
All I could say was. "That's evil."
And he said. "I hate them."
For years, Wes has been hung up on halloween issues. That's what I've referred to them as. He has always believed that because its very beginning was shaped from evil, it therefore should not be something we acknowledge or celebrate.
I loved Halloween as a kid. Trick or Treating. My neighborhood. My sister and I hand in hand, with our pumpkin candy holders in hand. Walking with my dad. Hi-fiving our neighbors as we'd pass each other dressed in sweet, fun characters. Mom at home, passing out candy to hundreds of our neighbors.
And I have fought him for years on celebrating this holiday and making it a part of our family.
But I'm running into a big problem. Its becoming blatantly evil. And I'm losing my argument with myself. I don't want to be a part of this. And why are these things hung up in the entrance, on every aisle and putting horrible images into my children's heads?
Are these things going to be on the front porches of the houses we go to? That's terrifying to a young child. After we had a conversation about this in Walgreens, we talked more about evil. The bible does tell us to cling to what is good. And to hate what is evil. Wyatt reflected all day on these "Scary things". And I could not argue or even correct him for hating them.
My overall thoughts: Its becoming harder to avoid and escape and overlook this kind of evil at Halloween.
A question: What is our role as believers living in this world that celebrates Halloween?
3 comments:
Great thoughts, girlie. I am challenged in this every year but have landed at celebrating it with the kids as "light heartedly" as possible. The kids love dressing up and it is a tremendous opportunity to socialize and gather with our neighbors. I do agree that it seems to get more sinister every year...the catalogs of costumes that come in the mail (that the kids love looking at) are filled with similar images to those on your post.
Chad's family grew up going to Chuck E Cheese. I am drawn more and more to an alternative like that as my kids get older. I am thankful to have friends wrestling with the same thoughts!
We have wrestled with some of the same stuff when we had Madeline...Matt didn't grow up celebrating it and I had found memories of Halloween. But you know what has been fun fall and spring alternatives that teach biblical history is Sukkot (fall) and Purim(Spring). Our kids have loved these celebrations and it's been fun to include family and friends in them. It can be a great outreach to your neighbors.
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