Happy Halloween. I love this holiday. I love kids and dressing mine up, making their costumes and then seeing their excitement at all the candy makes me happy. I understand Halloween is a gray area for some Christians, some don’t celebrate it, some speak against it and all that is fine. I had a God moment a few years back when I was struggling with this when I began to see it as a way to love on my neighbors and their kids. So with joy I decorated up my house, put on a costume and passed out candy. A year later the Holy Spirit gave me the idea to put stickers on the candy that simply said “You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” My family thought I was crazy and my husband thought no one would eat our candy but I did it anyway. A few people said things on Facebook about it but that was it and none of it was negative. I haven’t done it in a few years but God put it on my heart to do it again this year. When my middle daughter asked my why I was doing it I told her, I want everyone to know their loved, and that’s it. When were in a wake of another suicide/homicide in the news, where theirs pain in every house, I just want people to know their loved.
But this Halloween is not gearing up to a beautiful night of roaming the neighborhood, no it’s raining outside. They’ve predicting a mixture of snow and rain at tricker-treating time. It’s going to be cold and rainy and a little disappointing. So what do you do when your disappointed? Some of the best advice I’ve ever had is to have a plan B.
Plan B’s help with the anxiety of plan A not going smoothly. It also helps derail when the anxiety kicks in if plan A falls apart. I struggle with driving, especially on days like this. I spent many days afraid to go somewhere I’d really like to go simply because I was afraid I’d make it there and then be unable to drive myself home. So if my husband or parents couldn’t take me somewhere I simply wouldn’t go. I became captive to my fear because I had no plan B. I told this to my therapist about a year ago. He told me to come up with a plan B. What do you do if you can’t drive any father? My plan B was park the car, call an Uber and get the car the next day. Suddenly all the anxiety I had about driving vanished. I have a plan B. I haven’t needed to use it yet but I have one.
My plan B for Halloween was last night. A nearby church had a trunk or treat inside so I dressed my 5 year-old up, donned some Minnie Mouse ears and went with a friend. It was loud, chaotic and busy but my son got to go trick or treating. If tonight is just one pass down the block for him it will be okay, there was a plan B.
It’s important to remember our plans our now our own. “A man’s mind plans his way (as he journey’s thought life) but the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.” Proverbs 16:9 AMP. Sometimes your plan B may be just the way God wants you to go.
2BecomeBrave 