The Ups and Downs of Halloween Costumes

"So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
 Then the word of the Lord came to me.  He said, 'Can I not do with you as this potter does?' declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand."

Jeremiah 18:3-6

Every year, I make my kids' Halloween costumes.  It is something that my mom always used to do when we were little.  I love allowing them to choose anything they way to be, and I love the challenge of the creative process...and boy is it ever a process.

With four kids, it takes a long time...choosing fabrics/materials, figuring out how to make them fit, figuring out how to make it look like they want it to look while still having my kids able to breathe and see.  I love it and yet I always get  frustrated, disappointed, let down at some point.  Then miraculously in the end, it all works out.

This year, my kids were very excited about being part of the process.  However, they were not able to see the vision.  Often along the way I would hear, "That doesn't look like it's suppose to," or I would just see them trying to hide their disappointment in what it looked like.

There were also times when I had to adjust, start over, fix, resize, etc.

Yet in the end, when the costumes were revealed, there was nothing on their faces but pure joy.  Being a teacher, I also had the privilege of seeing them parade around the school proud as peacocks of the end result.

On the way back from trick or treating, my son asked why I make their costumes every year.  Before I had a chance to answer, he said, "Is it because you love me?"

"Yes, that's exactly it," I replied.

The whole process reminds me so much of being the clay in God's hands like in the verse from Jeremiah.

Our life experiences, good and bad, shape us.

From the smallest conversations with strangers, to the most exciting accomplishments, to the most devastating blows, we are being shaped by what we experience.

When you're in the midst of the worst experiences, it is easy to distrust the potter.  We forget that we are in his hands and he is in control.  We don't see where it is going or how it could possibly be worked out.  We only see the mess.  We don't understand why prayers go unanswered.

But the truth is, that the potter never takes his hands off us.  He never lets go. He takes our situation and uses it to mold us, to shape us, into the vision he has had for us from the very beginning.  It is okay to trust.  It is okay to let go and give it to him and know that he is all powerful-that it is all part of a greater plan, and we are being transformed in the process.

Is it because He loves us?

Yes, that's exactly it.