October 31, 2022
“I am going to put on a disguise and enter into battle, but you are going to dress in your normal robes.” ~ 1 Kings 22:30 the VOICE
Halloween on Court Square is a Woodstock Tradition from 11am – 1:30 pm on the Saturday before Halloween. There are magic shows, craft making, a monster mural coloring activity, a petting zoo, pumpkin painting, and trick or treating opportunities at businesses and not-for-profits along Main Street. It is focused on children, who dress up in their costumes and grab gobs of candy up and down Main Street. Wearing disguises goes all the way back to the Old Testament, although in those stories the motivation is safety, not candy.
St. Paul’s youth participate by handing out candy and all who help get all the candy they want to eat. It’s a fun time for all, including me. It’s a lesson in superheroes, princesses, and popular children’s stories, TV shows and movies, and this year a surprising law enforcement theme. It is perhaps a sign of the times. One family stood out. Mom and Dad were dressed like sheriffs, both of their children wore bright orange shirts with “Jailbird” stenciled on the back. The younger one, a toddler, was in a “jail cell” fashioned out of chicken wire attached to a wagon. I wonder if there is a law about child imprisonment.
My favorite costume of all was a blonde “cabbage patch” baby in a wooden wagon who had fallen asleep sitting up in a bumbo seat across from a stuffed Mickey Mouse who was bigger than the little girl.
Dressing up in costumes can be fun. It can let us imagine different possibilities for our lives, to pretend for a Saturday morning to be a princess or a pirate. I was a hobo, a clown, a football player, and a ghost when I was a child, and one year when our sons were into “He Man, Master of the Universe,” I create their costumes and then dressed myself up as “She Mommie” to accompany them around the neighborhood. We might be able to trick our neighbors, or even ourselves for a few hours of fun. But I’m at the age where being myself feels good. That’s the me that God loves, just as God loves you.
Enjoy being yourself today. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 