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"This is October, right?" The assembled children nod affirmatively.

"And October has 31 days?" A few knowing grins break out as young minds realize where I must be headed.

Receiving a positive response, I then ask, "Does October thirty-first have any special significance for any of you?"

"Yes!" come the now-vocalized replies. "It's Halloween!"

I look slightly puzzled and ask, "Halloween? What does that mean?"

"It means you go to people's houses and ask for candy," Bethany says.

"You go trick-or-treating!" several other children offer.

"Trick-or-treating? Asking for candy? Why would I do that?" I ask, continuing to pretend I do not understand.

"Because it's fun!" several children say with obvious anticipation of their upcoming foray.

"Well," I go on, "what's fun about it?"

"You get to dress up in a costume!" Sally announces.

"A costume?" I question. "Now that does sound like fun. Are any of you planning to go trick-or-treating in a costume on Halloween?"

Little heads nod with eager affirmation. I begin to ask what costumes they have chosen.

"A dancer!"

"An alligator!"

"A butterfly!"

These answers come along with acknowledgments from other children that they have not yet decided what to "be." I had expected answers like "Ninja Turtle!" and all sorts of monsters. I find it refreshing to have such delightful choices as these children have made. Perhaps it is only older children who gravitate toward the heroes and the hideous.

I continue with a reminiscence from my own childhood, of the costume I wore the October I was five. "My parents turned me into a black cat for Halloween that year. The costume had a great long tail, stuffed with rags. It seemed very long and got very heavy to carry before the night was over. But I couldn't just drag it. I knew cats walked with their tails up. Besides, if I dragged it, the material would get a hole in it and the rags would come out!

"As I was thinking about Halloween this morning, and wondering what costumes you might have decided to wear, I found myself considering how a person might dress as a Christian. Do you have any ideas?"

Immediately the children's faces twist into thoughtful concentration. Finally Brian says, "A priest!"

"That would work," I acknowledge. "What else?"

Much to my delighted surprise, Linda suggests, "You could dress as yourself."

"Yes!" I agree. "Because being a Christian doesn't depend on whether you're dressed up in a suit or wearing rags, does it? Being a Christian means following the example of Jesus and being just who God created you to be -- yourself!

"Still," I wonder out loud, "how would I know you are a Christian if you were just being yourself? If it didn't depend on how you looked or how you were dressed, what would tell me?"

As the children's puzzled silence grows, I continue. "Let me give you a hint. There's a song that ends with the words, 'And they'll know we are Christians by our love.' "

Eyes light up with understanding. "They'll know by how we act! They'll know by how we treat each other." (Children are so wise.)

"Yes, they'll know by our actions, by our love. Being yourself means living from your heart. I hope you all have fun on Halloween. And, as you turn into alligators, dancers, butterflies, and whatever else you decide upon, remember to be kind to the other costumed creatures you meet. Remember, beneath those costumes, who YOU are -- Christian children full of love."