Special Feature
Halloween was always fun at our house as the girls were growing up. Bay and Cape, our two oldest girls, grew up in the country, so Halloween was always a bit tricky. Our nearest neighbor was a quarter of a mile away, so we’d usually load the girls up and drive into town for some door-to-door trick-or-treating. The girls were sometimes envious of their friends’ fancy rubber masks and store-bought costumes. I could see it in their reactions when we approached a group of friends. And, as a dad, that always unsettled me. I don’t ever want my girls to feel “less than.” I fear that sometimes they did because they never dressed as Wonder Woman or had a true Disney princess gown to wear. Still, though, they learned some valuable lessons along the way.
Hannah, a “do it with what you have” kind of mom, was always exceptionally creative in her endeavors. My favorite Halloween garb was some spinoff of “The Flintstones” she created when Bay was maybe eight years old. Cape would have been five or so. Complete with actual chicken bones as hair bows, the girls looked much the part of Fred and Wilma’s two daughters. Move over, Pebbles, there are some new kids in town! Hannah always made the girls costumes for most theatrical occasions including Halloween, school dress-up days, character days, and homecoming themes. Give her a junk drawer and some old clothes, and she could make our girls look like the Little Mermaid or a Radio City Rockette! “This is who we are,” Hannah explained to Bay one night. “We don’t need to spend a bunch of money on plastic masks and vinyl clothes. Let’s just be authentic.” Bay nodded her head, not yet consoled, but she seemed to understand Hannah’s lesson. It’s an important one, too. One that permeates throughout parenting. Be authentic. Authenticity is, after all, the key to unlocking the gate of contentment.
On being “who we are,” Cape stands 5’ foot 11” or so. From an early age, Hannah taught her- and all our girls- the value of the gift God gave her when He made her tall. “Wear those high heels, girl,” she would say as Cape pranced through the living room in Hannah’s shoes. “Be proud of who God made you to be and be content in it.” Cape is now a freshman at Mississippi State. When formal attire is appropriate, she oftentimes stands above the rest of the room sporting her very high heels. She is not only content with who God made her to be, but also confident in it, too.
Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Indeed, His works are wonderful… including us. If only we could learn to be content and confident in who He made us to be. If we did, few would ever put on the masks of unauthentic adulthood. Too busy are some, chasing the illusions of contentment in the world. They never see beyond the masks they wear, and they never find true joy in Him. Take off the mask. Be authentic.
-Walt Merrell
A Christian Outdoorsman who writes of his adventures with his family, with the hope that others might be inspired and encouraged to embrace God’s tapestry, otherwise known as the great outdoors, as a means of finding Common Ground. You can follow him at Shepherding Outdoors on FB, YT and IG and at shepherdingoutdoors.com. His most recent book is available at shepherdingbook.com. Read his faith story at www.BirminghamChristian.com.
