Trickery

“Where’s them candy sticks? Timmy, you better not of got you some of my candy sticks without me approvin' cause them Halloween beggars will be here tomorrow night wantin' a treat."

      Last year, they turned over my favorite flower pot and took three jars of pickles from my back porch cause I didn't have no treat to give.  Three Halloweens ago, them tricksters painted all sorts of red and black stripes on Lucy, my best friend Molly's pig. Them tricksters is serious about this silliness. And I know for a fact from preacher Massey's cousin's wife, who lives next door to that Scottish Grant clan covered with the devil's spots, that them heathen Scottish people brung this nonsense to this Christian nation. They called it guising on account of them being disguised, and it's just a pretty darn shame they couldn't leave that blessed beggin' custom over there with their own heathen kinfolk.

"Timmy, walk down to Molly's farm and fetch mama six eggs, will ya?"

     I'll bake a cake for them beggars even though I'm mighty tired from this here sicknes the good Lord is takin' his sweet time in healin' me from. 

     I could tell you a few things about beggar’s night you wouldn't believe like two years ago what commenced at Doc Robinson's place. When he was out deliverin' Helen's twins on Halloween night, some tricksters set fire to his office.  Lord help us for your people have done gone mad and headed straight to the devil.  Smashing pumpkins, turning over wagons, and rearranging the scarecrows is right annoyin', yes, and not real Christian-like, but settin' fire to the good doctor's business is taking things a bit too far. 
      It ain't right to gossip, but I'm goin' to tell you all about Molly and then of course what I done for her, bless her heart, when them beggars painted Lucy. This was back when I was kinda healthy and could walk two miles, so me and Timmy walked all the way to her farm with the good book, cause Lord knows Molly and Chester don't got one.  While Timmy was washing Lucy, I give Molly a lesson on doin' proper things for the good Lord if she wanted a bundle of easier life.  And by a bundle of easier, I mean Chester comin' home sober every night.  The verses I used come straight from the book the good Lord used, the King James, the English King James, naturally.

     It tickles me to death to tell y'all that due to my good deed, Molly comes to church every Sunday, although I wished she'd dress a little more godly. And Chester has quit his drinkin' and carousin' all but Saturday night.  I told Molly to make sure that sorry ole Chester picks up some sweets for them silly tricksters every year cause Lord knows these tired legs can't walk no two miles no more on of account of Franklin, my husband who isn't the president even though our house is white but pitiful small and he ain't nearly as smart, done gone and sold our car and won't tell me why.
       He had to ride a train home after he drove up to Chicago and sold it. I didn't kick him out on account of me being a Christian woman.

    

Back to my special sickess which is more important than Molly and her no-count husband.  I don't know what I done to deserve this.  The only thing I can consider is that I ain't always real sweet to Franklin.  But, he ain't always real lovin' and sweet to me neither.  "An eye for an eye," and if he expects a treat of a sweet, lovin' wife, he best be a bit nicer husband. I'm guessin' that's why the good Lord give me this here sickness.  I been remindin' him of all my good deeds and been doin' more and more of them good deeds, too.

     I bet my house, don't tell Franklin, that the good Lord will heal me real soon on account of how I been gettin' His attention with my prayin'. If the good Lord wants me to keep on servin' him and doin' all those good deeds like takin' soup to Mr. Owen after he went and catched a cold from fishin' and giving the widow Lewis grocery money cause her no count son won't, he'll heal me from my sickness. 

    I'll be a prayin' that til he hurries up and heals me.  If he don't heal his good servant Mae, let's see who he gets to cook Sunday dinner for preacher Massey and those eight misbehaving youngins and his sickly wife. What a treat my healin' will be for all the good folks in town I help. I know the good Lord wants treats from me, and he sure knows what kindly tricks I'm pretty darn capable of doin’.

I've Trick or Treated with God and prayed like Mae, with better grammar, of course. If he'll answer with a "yes," I'll serve and pray more.  If he doesn't give me my desires, I may decide to disobey or threaten to stop serving or believing.  I've asked God to prove his love by making something good happen. I like treats and admit I've expected a few from God.

"And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." Hebrews 11:6

God rewards us when we sincerely seek him, then mysteriously, treats are no longer a concern. Our prayers are no longer "if you don't give me...." or "if you give me....." No more bargaining.  Even when we feel more tricked than treated with rewards by the world, we have peace. We don't need to Trick or Treat with God.  God’s reward, an abundant life, is a treat the world cannot give. Of course, an occasional Snicker's bar doesn’t hurt.

Hope & Luke, Grace Pratt and 

Daddy Luke

Katy

Fear and Demons

The Scratching Monster

My first demon, the Scratching Monster, appeared at my Grandmother Brown's window screen when my sister, Susi, and I spent the night.  The Scratching Monster didn't appreciate two little girls, ages four and five, sleeping in his room while he slept on the sofa. Decades before post traumatic stress disorder showed up in a psychological journal, my grandparents went along with it, laughed, and nodded when our fourteen year old Uncle Jimmy asked, "Did you girls hear the scratching monster last night?" Identifying him as the Scratching Monster made it slightly less scary, but when he scratched again, we were frightened.

Another childhood demon was our National "Guardian" daddy walking into our dark bedroom wearing a gas mask. Although mom stood next to him laughing, we were terrified.  Then there was the completely inept babysitter who gathered me, Susi, and our four cousins into the den until our parents returned because "someone was in the kitchen." No one was in the kitchen, so needless to say, she never babysat for us again.

Something sinister at the Anderson County Fair haunted house snatched my plastic headband right off my head, so other than Disney's humorous Haunted Mansion, I never visited another haunted house until my senior year of high school.  Persuaded by my church youth group, I walked through the Anderson Mall haunted house but couldn't tell you what it was like since I was led through it, eyes closed, squeezing tightly the arms of friends.

Due West, S.C.

Main Street, Due West, S.C.

And since I don't learn lessons easily, my childhood best friend, Allyson, and I sat through the first hour of Friday the 13th with our eyes closed before running out of the theater.  And months later, at the end of Halloween, my date vowed to never take me to another scary movie.  That's ok, I didn't need him.  I saw Halloween II with college friends. A few nights later, I walked from the Erskine library back to my dorm in the middle of the street.  Due West, with its old homes and tree lined sidewalks, looked eerily like the fictional Haddonfield. 

Obviously, I'm easily frightened, so I married a horror movie buff who thought it would be funny to play the Halloween movie theme on our piano at night or on the church organ in the dark chapel when I went back to look for my bible one Sunday night. Now that I'm a tough grown up, though, I don't mind an occasional scary movie on the sofa with my eyes closed.

Also as a tough grown up, I'm not afraid to be alone at night, except for the time the scratching monster tried to open my dining room window screen. I knew my Uncle Jimmy wasn't in town, and my vicious Labrador Hershey was absolutely no help, so I called 911 with the house phone. With my cell phone, I called Clay, my neighbor who probably regrets giving me his number after shining his flashlight under a tree. "Is that what you heard?"  My new scratching monster was a cat.    

As a child, I was afraid of cemeteries and mortuaries and had to sleep with my mom after a scary movie.  "Katy, it isn't the people under the ground or the monsters in the movies you should be afraid of.  It's the live ones." How true, Mom, how true.  

It is a few of the live ones we need to fear, especially the live one in the mirror. One of my favorite songs is "Demons" by Imagine Dragons. They sing, "look into my eyes, it's where my demons hide."

We don't see many people possessed by evil spirits today.  We now refer to demons as life's fears not caused by haunted houses or the scratching monster. They're caused by us and live inside. Why did or didn't I do that? What will happen and how will I live with it? Why did this sin happen again and why can't I forget? What kind of parent am I and what will happen to my children? How do I solve problems I've created?

Other demons, more frightening and dangerous than the ones on television or the scratching monster, are often handed to us at a young age from people we love and trust, intentionally or unintentionally.  These insecurities and fears are the most difficult, and as much as we try to erase them with busyness, alcohol, drugs, food, money, relationships, or STUFF, they hide for decades, waiting to destroy us until we realize who they actually fear.

"Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon - an evil spirit - began shouting at Jesus, "Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!" Luke 4:33-34

This is Good News for us and bad news for those demons.  Yes, He did come to destroy them. Yes, they fear him.  I love Jesus' response.

"Jesus cut him short. 'Be quiet! Come out of the man.' Luke 4:35

The Message says, Jesus shut him up.  And he will.  

"I cried to Him, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4

Fears and demons sometimes make us cry.  He'll calm our fears and dry our tears, but when they return to destroy us, because we're human, He'll pull them out from behind our eyes and command them to leave again. His Holiness cuts them short.  Fear and demons leave with His presence.

Katy