Halloween took place several weeks ago and though I freely admit that it鈥檚 not one of my favourite nights of the year, I always make sure we have goodies to hand out and I wear a big smile along with my regular duds to welcome visitors. And visitors we have!
Known as one of the busiest streets in town for the big night, several neighbours told me that they鈥檇 purchased goodies for 350 to 400 visits. I actually felt a bit miserly because I鈥檇 prepared for only 100 but, hey, I did my best.
The big night finally came and thankfully it was warm and rain-free. I moved a chair to the front step landing, poured my resources into a large container and waited for the first of 鈥渢he gang鈥� to arrive. They were there shortly afterwards and I quickly noticed a shift in the usual choice of costumes from other years: these were decidedly non-ghoulish (with few exceptions) and delightfully cute. I found myself actually enjoying handing out goodies and hearing their polite expressions of thanks.
Time sped by and I soon realized that I was near the bottom of my proverbial barrel of candies. When a young fellow climbed the stairs to where I sat, I told him I was sorry I couldn鈥檛 give him more but I was almost out and there were others waiting. Without a moment鈥檚 hesitation he reached in his bag, pulled out two treats then said, 鈥淗ere鈥檚 some for the other kids鈥�. Wow, what a lesson in giving!
I won鈥檛 forget that incident quickly, nor a truth reinforced by Scripture:
鈥淣ever walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God鈥檚 hand for that person. Don鈥檛 tell your neighbor 鈥楳aybe some other time鈥� or 鈥楾ry me tomorrow鈥� when the money鈥檚 right there in your pocket.鈥� Proverbs 3:27-28鈥�
听
听
听
.jpg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
