October 21, 2021 – Thursday
Yesterday morning, the children were questioning me on what black cats, bats, owls, and spider webs have to do with Halloween. I have always taught them the beauty of nature, and have never labeled these creatures of the night as scary or creepy. Their foundation was truth, and this new information wasn’t inline what they knew. They were checking the facts.
The simple answer to their question is absolutely nothing. God’s beautiful creation has nothing to do with Halloween. But there is more to it than that. As I answered their questions, fresh manna fell down from heaven for me to collect. The more I taught, the more wisdom I seemed to receive.
It is an age old story that dates back to the beginning of time. The enemy of this world, the devil, has always longed to be exalted above God and to be worshipped; it is what caused his fall from heaven to begin with (gotquestions.org). He wanted what God had and was willing to do anything to get it. He is up to his same old tricks today, attempting to steal what the Lord has and turn our eyes away from God. “The enemy may be invisible but he is not fictional. He is very real, and very persistent, waging war against us constantly (Priscilla Shirer, Armor of God Study).”
Who told us that black cats, spiders, owls, and bats are creepy creatures of Halloween? God created each of these amazing nocturnal creatures. It was the devil who stole them from God, attached a new label, and directed our attention away from God and towards himself. The enemy is running rampant under the cover of these lies. Just as he always has, the enemy still longs for adoration and will stop at nothing to get it. He wins anytime we believe his lies.
“Who told you that?”
We must become fact checkers and lie detectors. The simplest way to check our facts is with one simple question – “who told you that?” It is one of the first questions in the Bible. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are caught hiding in the garden after eating the forbidden fruit. Adam tells the Lord “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” God’s response is timeless. “Who told you that?
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Gen 3:10-11, NIV)
There are so many lies we believe that we are unaware of. Deception is just that… it is deceptive. We must learn to check our facts, because most of the time we are unaware of the lies we believe. The enemy stays in a place of safety as long as we don’t recognize him as the source. Little children naturally ask questions? Let us learn by their example by simply asking WHY?! Why do we do what we do?!
We are a chosen generation – called to proclaim the goodness of God. We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9). God encourages us to turn away our eyes from worthless things (Ps 119: 37), and think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8). Let us redirect our focus and become fact checkers!
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9, AMP)
Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. (Ps 119:37)
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil 4:8, NIV)
“‘What day is it?’ asked Pooh. ‘It’s today,’ squeaked Piglet. ‘My favorite day’ said Pooh.” This quote by A.A. Milne was one of my favorites when my children were small. Oh how I cherished each and every day! I still do.
It was an early March morning, one I remember so vividly. We spent the morning gathered around the breakfast table reading the Bible, memorizing scripture and skimming the surface of liquids and solids. Once the wiggles set in, I knew it was time to head outdoors. I gathered up my then two and three year old, and we set off on an adventure. We had two ponds behind our house. As we approached the first one, we noticed its edges were just beginning to reveal the effects of the Rocky Mountain spring thaw. The frozen center held tight to the anticipation of the inevitable spring just around the corner. We explored craw daddies along the shoreline, tossed rocks onto the frozen center to determine the weight it would take to break, and watched the Canadian Geese land and skate across the ice like skilled figure skaters. The example of the solid pond slowly returning to its liquid state was a beautiful demonstration of our ability to learn science through nature study. I was content with the day’s lesson and decided we would continue to keep monitoring the pond until it fully thawed.
Months later on a cold Colorado January night, our patience, perseverance and faithfulness were rewarded, as hooting lured us outdoors. The synchronization of the moonlight and leafless trees, made the invisible – visible. A season of barrenness revealed the bounty that was always within – a great horned owl! Majestic, awe inspiring and mysterious – this beautiful creature had us captivated. The condensation that once formed a cloud as we exhaled, ceased as we held our breath in anticipation. Moments later a distant mate answered the call, and a harmonious courtship ensued. We stood their shivering only to be released from our trance as the owl silently took flight and disappeared into the dark.
From that night forward, we became increasingly proficient at spotting our resident owls. We would begin to anticipate their hooting courtship each January. Yet, their babies remained unseen. The evergreens do not reveal their contents in the winter as do their deciduous counterparts. Patience, perseverance and faithfulness were once again rewarded, this time in the final hours. Fast forward five years. All of our belongings have been packed into boxes, as we anticipated a move to the Midwest. We went outside to soak up all we could of springtime in the Rockies. As the children ran with their oldest sister under the pine trees, they discovered a tiny, white, down feather… and then another. Much like the owl pellets that drew our attention to the trees years ago, the white down seemed to be an invitation to look up. Not far from the scattered down, high up in the evergreens, they discovered two fuzzy white owl babies! It felt like the grand finale to a five year study! God is so good and He always finishes what He starts. Was our curiosity quenched with the satisfaction of a completed lesson? Hardly! It had simply ignited an unquenchable fire that will last a lifetime.