November 1 – “that’s the absolute best”

Happy All Saints Day.  That means last night was Halloween, and we were back at it again this year.  For some reason God keeps sending hundreds of children and their parents through our neighborhood every year.  So we have accepted the challenge.  Last night we were joined in the effort by fifteen or twenty Seasiders.  Three of the bikers staying at the retreat center came over as well.  They are in town for the big Biker Rally.  And Corey and Janell and their family set up across the street in their house as well.  Quite the entourage of workers for this monumental yearly task.

Wait.  What?  Oh.  It has come to my attention that I have not as yet mentioned exactly what this yearly task actually is.  We are doing our best to get the Word of God into the hands of as many kids as we can.  This year’s totals look like this.  Three hundred fifty New Testaments given away, as well as sixty-plus copies of the Gospel of John.  We ran out of candy a little after 8 p.m., but most of the neighbors were shutting down by then anyway, so we joined them. 

And we heard some exciting things.  Numerous of the youngsters ran out to their waiting parents back on the sidewalk with cries of, “I got a book!” 

One of our Seasiders texted me this: “I heard the most amazing thing as we were leaving.  A little boy was so excited he got a Bible that he started shouting, ‘Mom, I got a Bible!  I really got a Bible!  God is good and he loves me!’  It was the most precious thing.  Oh, it made my night!  The look on his face was glowing with pride.”

One youngster raced out to show his Dad what he got.  Dad loudly responded, “Out of everything you got tonight, that’s the absolute best.”  And as they walked away he hollered over his shoulder, “Thank y’all so much.”

And my personal favorite was the mom who came storming up into the driveway.  I wasn’t sure what she was going to say.  She stopped about midway in, put her hands on her hips, and cried, “Were you the ones who gave my son a Bible?”  Now I still wasn’t sure where she was going with that, but what else could we say?  We fessed up and replied, “Yes, Ma’am.  That would be us.”  She continued, “Well, I just wanted to tell you, that was the nicest thing you could ever have done.  You absolutely made my entire night.  Thank you so much.” 

Our biker friends were amazed over and over again at the sheer number of children, as well as the unbelievable opportunity to share the Bibles with people.  In fact the 150 Biker New Testaments they brought with them were the first to go.  They said things like, “The kids are so excited to have something of their very own that they know adults already have a copy of.  I think it makes them feel really grown-up.”  And, “I have participated in Halloween collecting with my kids, and I have given away candy at Halloween all my life, but it never occurred to me to give away the Word of God.  This is just amazing.”  They were also impressed that in all the years we have been giving away scripture, we have never found a discarded New Testament in our walk the next morning.  Just something about it being the Word that makes it hard to toss away as trash. 

Psalms 109:30 says, “With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng I will praise him.”

Father, thank you for the kiddos we touched last night.  And thanks for the adults who were moved by the opportunity you gave us.  Amen.