Reclaiming Halloween

We are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

“You look familiar. Do I know you?”

Pausing from cleaning up empty hot cocoa packets strewn across the long, white folding table, I reconsidered the woman stirring cups for a petite princess and a tinier Hulk amidst the Halloween chaos in our driveway.

“Well, my name is Julie Fisk . . .” I replied a bit uncertainly, trying to place how I might know her and suddenly regretting my decision to put on a giant wearable blanket that covered me from neck to knees. It was warm but looked utterly ridiculous.

“Oh! Your son is in my class. And I live two streets over.” And with that slightly fumbled start, our conversation took off, revealing a million tiny connections. Aaron and I had walked past her house a hundred times, cheerfully waving to her husband as he and the kids played pickleball in the driveway. Our kids were in the same immersion program and had many of the same teachers despite the age gap. So many other small ties had me smiling long after they continued on their way—her princess was feeling slightly chilly in the cool night air and wanted to keep going.

Almost ten years ago, we decided to experiment with using Halloween to build relationships with our neighbors, near and far. We offer hot cocoa, s’mores, and full-size candy bars, and a giant bonfire lights our driveway—an invitation to warm up and linger, engaging for a few moments in conversation before continuing down the sidewalk. We want to be known as a family of warm hospitality, and we’re grateful that God has taken our experiment and built it into what we’d hoped for and even gone far beyond our imaginings.

Today’s verse is for me what some people call a “life verse.” Being a woman who wears the “fragrance of Christ,” a woman whose presence consistently (even while imperfectly) invites people toward God, is a striking visual of what it means to have your internal faith manifest externally through your actions.

Being fragrant looks different based on our stage of life, where we live, and where we work or volunteer. As long as we’re willing, we can trust God to throw open the doors of opportunity.

Julie

Today’s Act of Gratitude

In what ways are you fragrant? Consider one way to increase your potency.