Long before Ariel captured the hearts of young girls in The Little Mermaid, I dreamt of being a mermaid… at least for Halloween. My mom is a master seamstress, but did I ask for her help in creating my costume? Nooo, I had to do it myself. Fortunately I’m not in touch with most of the people who saw me parade down the halls of Aurora 7 Elementary School that year! The costume was more reminiscent of a dead guppy than a mermaid… I don’t think my parents even took pictures. Sad.
Here’s what I love about that Halloween day back in 19… My mom could have stepped in and made the costume for me, and it would’ve been AMAZING! Instead, she held back and let me create my own (biting her tongue I’m sure). I remember trying to figure out how to make the mermaid tail out of fabric and experimenting to see just how much glitter really was too much. (The janitors were sweeping up blue/green glitter for days after the parade!)
Although I was a little embarrassed by the obvious homemade quality of the costume (and the fact that I kept tripping over the fins), I was more thrilled with the fact that I had done it! A dream in my head became reality and my passion for creativity was given wings. Thanks mom!
I’m sad that Halloween has become more about evil than about dressing up in fun, happy costumes. I’m a big fan of the Fall Festivals and All Saints Day celebrations… especially when they incorporate costumes! Why should our kids have to lose the wonder and creativity of dressing up? A lot of groups have “Bible character” costumes as part of their celebrations. One girl dressed as the “tree” in Psalm 1! Talk about creative!
One of our team members did a puppet show about Halloween at AWANA this week. To watch it click on: dg4kids.com. It may give you some ideas for how you can have a fun conversation with your kids about Halloween and the character of God. This weekend will provide many opportunities to compare and contrast who God is and who the enemy of our soul is. I pray we will all capitalize on those teachable moments. Halloween is a great time to be thankful for who God really is!!!