The Thing That Made Her Afraid

I know that my doorbell will soon be ringing.
I know that children in the neighborhood will be on the other side of the door.
I know that I will recognize some but not others.
That is all part of the fun.

People have divided opinions concerning Halloween.
Some people go all out with decorations, even wearing costumes as they answer the door.
Some people turn off their lights.
Most people are somewhere in the middle, especially if you have young children.

I remember the excitement when my children came home from school.
They would get their homework done quickly.
They would sit down and have a light dinner before they went around the neighborhood.
As the older ones grew up, they either helped with the younger ones or answered the door.

I had one stipulation when it came to costumes.
They were not allowed to wear anything scary, grotesque, or evil.
My boys were football players (they wish we kept those Eagles costumes).
My girls were Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, a cheerleader, and a prairie girl with bonnet.

They came up with the idea for their costumes.
They put their costume together.
Pictures were taken before they went out.
They each had their bag for the candy they would receive.

When they got home, they would put their candy in piles on the floor.
Then the trading began.
I’ll give you this for this; You can have two of these for one of those.
I would listen from the kitchen, trying to stifle my giggles.

Elementary school would usually have a Halloween parade.
Some of the same rules that I set in our home were in place there as well.
I never minded bringing the younger children with me, since I knew they would not be scared.
It was fun to wave at my older children as they paraded past me.

When my youngest daughter was in preschool, she dressed as a bride.
A nightgown and a hat with a veil that I made for her, was her costume.
My oldest daughter wanted to take her around to a few houses.
She was timid about the whole thing but went with her sister.

They were no sooner gone, they came back.
My little daughter was upset.
I was trying to look into my oldest daughter’s face to see what happened.
She wanted to tell me but first I had to comfort her little sister.

They walked around the neighborhood of twenty-four homes.
They even walked into the cul-de-sac, which for a preschooler was a bit far.
They went up to a house and saw a stuffed gorilla sitting outside.
My oldest daughter saw it but was not concerned.

As my two daughters approached the front door, the gorilla sprang to life.
The gorilla yelled something, hoping to give the children a little scare.
My little daughter was terrified.
All she wanted to do was come home.

After that, she never liked Halloween.
She was always a bit fearful of costumes that were scary.
School parades were not fun to watch.
She just did not like that day.

I made a decision in those early years.
We would have a mother-daughter day on October 31.
We did something special together and made wonderful memories.
Here at home, she would come to the door with me to hand out candy.

I often wondered what the father in that house was thinking when he dressed as a gorilla.
Older children might liked to be scared like that; but younger children did not.
They no longer live in the neighborhood.
I never talked to him about it; I simply modified the day for my little girl with the tender heart.

The reluctance to participate in Halloween only lasted through those younger years.
After that, it was fun to dress up, creatively.
I remember seeing pictures from her college days, when she dressed up like Elliot from ET.
She even had a bike with ET in a basket; her creative side broke through, to everyone’s delight.

When I am afraid, I will trust in You. (Psalm 56:3)

We all have things that make us afraid.
Something triggers our fear response.
That trigger is different for everyone.
In this fallen world, there is much to fear.

However, there is an antidote.
Often in the Gospels we read, It is I. Do not be afraid.
Literally, Jesus said: I am. No fear.
I am. No fear.

That is a wonderful Truth that we can cling to.
Jesus is fully God and fully man.
God revealed Himself to Moses as the great, I am.
I am. No fear.

That is how we, as parents, can help our children when they are afraid.
We can remind them that the great, I am, loves them and cares for them.
We can remind them that the great, I am, never leaves them or forsakes them.
While we’re at it, we can remind ourselves, too.

It may not be a gorilla jumping up and yelling at us, but we all have our own fears.
We have adult fears.
We know the things that can go wrong.
We know the things that can hurt us or the ones we love.

The Truth is the same.
I am. No fear.
That is a promise we can cling to.
Always.