All Hallow's Eve

The rain stopped earlier this afternoon, just in time for the children in this subdivision to enjoy an evening of trick-or-treating. I'm glad it cleared up for their sakes. If they felt like I did as a child, this night was a special one where they could dress up in costume and fill their sacks with candy and other goodies...

Yes, I know all the arguments against Halloween trick-or-treating so I'm not going to address those issues. All I want to think about tonight is the fun of knowing that a child can dress up and pretend to be someone totally different than they are in real life. That a child can get a free piece of candy or other treat for no other reason than custom. That for once, the child (with a parent) can knock on a door and expect to get something for nothing.

Actually, the homeowner who answers the door gets quite a treat themselves. I find it interesting to see what types of costumes the children wear. Some are very elaborate. Others are simply thrown together from odds and ends that a parent has around the house. Sometimes, the parents get dressed up too.

When I was a child, we sometimes played tricks. But what tricks!!! Can you imagine the unsophistication of a child who has a wallet or purse attached to a string, who puts the purse on a porch, rings the doorbell and hastily runs to the side of the house to wait for the occupant to open the door. We expected the person who opened the door to be totally surprised that there should be a purse on his doorstep. We wanted him to reach down to pick it up and we would pull the string and snatch the purse from his outstretched hand!!! Did it ever work that way? Nooooo...

Sometimes, bad boys in the neighborhood would soap up a car or move things off a porch... things like that. I don't remember anything really destructive that was done. Sometimes, the local playground which was not far from my home, had Halloween activities too. I spent a lot of time at that playground when I was growing up. There was a woman there who taught crafts and games to us and made sure that we had plenty to do.

I was shocked several years ago when people began finding razor blades and other things in apples and candy bars. Who would want to hurt children like that. Events like that changed trick-or-treating forever. One couldn't just enjoy the evening. Now one had to instruct their children NOT to accept fruit or any unwrapped candy. When my grandchildren brought home their treats, everything was emptied on the table and anything suspicious was discarded immediately. Such a shame that children had to be made aware that some folks do mean things.

Anyway, I was happy to see the few who ventured down my street tonight. They were greeted with a smile from me and a compliment on their costumes and a wish that they have lots of fun tonight. Too soon, these children will grow up to discover a world that is not the carefree world of childhood.

Behind and before, You encircle me...

Recently, Psalm 139 came up as one of the psalms in rotation in the Liturgy of the Hours. I love this psalm. Every time I pray it, I am struck by one or another of its verses. This time it was verse 5, which goes like this: "Behind and before, you encircle me and rest your hand upon me."

It is such a comforting thought to know that our God is so personal to us that He wishes to capture us in His embrace; and to rest His hand on us to guide and direct us...

In times of distress and suffering, He encircles us as a gesture of protection - a promise to us that He will not give us more than we can endure. When we stumble and seem ready to fall, He rests His hand upon us to steady us and give us strength to go on.

In times of temptation, He encircles us with His grace; help that we can accept or not. When we fall into sin and our hearts and souls cry out for mercy and forgiveness, His hand is there to lift us up and bring us back into friendship with Him. We know He has not abandoned us; it is we who have abandoned Him.

We simply cannot fathom the love our Father has for us. Our love for spouse, children, other family members or friends is only a tiny foretaste of the love that our God has for each of us. It is a sacrificial love that allowed His beloved Son to become one of us. And that Son willing to taste death to be the ultimate sacrifice that brought healing to us and to all of creation.

Even then, we were not to be left alone; for the Spirit was promised to us. We believe God's Holy Spirit is with us right now, to guide us in the way we are to go. All we are required to do is to love, to trust... and to encircle in love the people we encounter and to place our hands in theirs to comfort them in their need, just as our God does with us.

Lord, let Your Light shine through us unto everyone we meet.

The Wren's Song

Sometimes, during the summer months, in the early morning soon after I have awakened, a wren begins to sing directly outside my bedroom window. This tiny bird has one of the most beautiful voices in nature; and it is a joy to hear it.

The wren's song is loud and has an intricate and beautiful melody. The wren is calling someone. If you listen closely, away in the distance, one can hear a faint response to its call. As the wren continues to sing, the answering call sounds closer, becomes stronger, as though the second wren is following the call of its mate so that they can be together.

Isn't the wren's beautiful call like God's call to us? God sings His beautiful melody into our souls and desires a response from us.

Our souls try to answer but because of sin, our voices are weak and can scarcely be heard. God doesn't give up though. His beautiful melody reaches us again and again, as we try to put away our sins and come closer to Him.

As I reflect on God's call, I am reminded of another call - the evil song of the Lorelei, whose haunting melody lured sailors and their ships to destruction among the rocks of the river Rhine.

But our God's call is not a call to destruction; but a call to life in Him. The call of the evil one can have no effect on us if our hearts, souls and minds are filled with God's melody.