It was the calm before the storm when I first began writing this post. Then the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic struck with a fury, spreading fear, panic, and death across our entire world. This message, Walking in Darkness, became timelier than ever. I can assuredly tell you, as you'll soon discover in this miraculous story, that even in our present darkness, the Light of all hope shines brightly.
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great Light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a Light has dawned" (Isaiah 9:2).
This October 31, 1997, Halloween photograph of my daughter, Rachel, was taken on her fourth birthday. I can't imagine that anyone would be at all frightened when answering their front door and being greeted by this adorable little girl saying, "Trick or Treat." I'm pretty sure that not even her ghostly t-shirt that says "Boo" would have alarmed anyone. This kid is just too cute to be scary. Even enlarging the front of her tie-dye t-shirt in this second picture doesn't make her appear any spookier. You can clearly see that the ghosts are actually imprints of one of her bare feet. While you may not have been fooled or frightened by this pint-sized trick-or-treater, you may have been persuaded to be extra generous with the candy when she tells you it's her birthday.
The Halloween story I'm about to tell you is no trick, but the truth. It really happened! It even includes a real ghost. No, not the kind you're thinking about, but the Holy Ghost! I prefer to call Him the Holy Spirit. He is a real person. He is the Spirit of God. He is one-third of the Trinity along with God the Father and God the Son. If you don't believe in Him, if you don't believe in God at all, then maybe you'll at least believe that something surprisingly miraculous happened here.
As the following events unfold, you'll soon discover something far beyond a fluke occurrence, a strange happenstance, or an eerie twist of fate. You'll see that there is absolutely nothing simple about it, because the incredible odds against something like this ever happening can only be described as "an act of God." It's the kind of event that has no other supernatural explanation. It begins by taking a long, hard look at the symbols in this next picture. Do you recognize anything familiar as it relates to Halloween? That's an easy question to answer. Yes, it's the black cat! The symbols you see in the picture are what I saw during my near-death experience (NDE) when I was told by the Holy Spirit to "look and remember."
What makes this part of my story so amazing is the fact that my NDE occurred a full year before I met my wife and almost three years before my daughter was born on Halloween. While this symbolic match is indeed remarkable, there is something even more miraculous in all this. To even calculate the astronomical odds of it occurring by chance, you'd need to line up zeros to infinity and beyond. The odds are so high that it makes more sense to zero in on God as the author of this story. In other words, let me tell you what He did, and you can decide for yourself if it qualifies as a miracle.
It was February 1993, and I had been married a little over four months. Sharon and I were still newlyweds when we decided to go out to dinner to celebrate the one-year anniversary of my wedding proposal and our engagement. Sharon, though, had no idea that I was about to make another life-changing proposal. This time it wasn't only life-changing, it was life-creating. I told her that I had a very strong feeling that it was time for us to have a baby. You can imagine her complete surprise! It was a big decision for both of us to make together. I didn't know it at the time, but my "strong feeling" to have a baby was actually a prompting from the Holy Spirit.
The following month, Sharon was the one to surprise me with the wonderful news that she was pregnant. Expecting our first child was, to say the least, an exciting time. The doctor's official due date was November 21st, or 11/21. I couldn't help but notice that this was the same 11:21 as the time on the digital clock from my NDE. I had no idea if this was only a coincidence or if it meant something significant. (I'll cover this part of the story in a future post.) I also had no clue whatsoever that I was going to have a daughter. Even after the ultrasound confirmed the gender, I still wasn't entirely convinced. My August 8, 2019, post titled Like the Brightest Sunrise explains why I still believed we were having a boy.
The pregnancy progressed normally until another ultrasound showed the development of a possible brain abnormality. The doctor wasn't sure of his findings, so he referred us to Shands Hospital in Gainesville for a more thorough evaluation. Thankfully, and to our relief, we received confirmation that everything was okay. Then, on Thursday evening, October 28th, the unexpected happened. Sharon's water broke prematurely, and we had to quickly rush to the hospital. The baby wasn't due for another four weeks, and we were concerned that something might be wrong. The doctor confirmed the loss of amniotic fluid, which meant we weren't going home.
For the next three days and many long hours of anticipation, Sharon and baby were closely monitored. Sharon was given intravenous medication to help speed up the delivery and hopefully kick-start the contractions. Nothing seemed to work as time slowly turned from one day to the next. Except for a quick shower at home, I stayed at the hospital helping Sharon, and together we expectantly waited for something to happen. It wasn't until early Sunday evening that serious contractions and hard labor finally began. It happened so fast that Dr. Kenneth McAlpine had to be paged while out trick-or-treating with his children. He managed to arrive at the hospital with only moments to spare. We were then blessed with a healthy and beautiful baby girl, Rachel, who was born at 6:57 p.m.
Having lived at the hospital for several days, I'd lost all track of time and had forgotten what day it was. I'm not exactly sure when I finally put two and two together, but it didn't take long. I realized that I not only had a daughter born on Halloween, but that one of the main symbols representing Halloween, the black cat, was an exact match to the same black cat I'd seen in my NDE. What was this all about? What did it mean? At the time, I had no idea!
When I first recognized the unmistakable connection, I knew that black cats also symbolically represent superstition and are synonymous with witchcraft. While I knew very little then about witchcraft, I generally understood how superstition was a belief or notion that wasn't based on reason or knowledge. It can also be an irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious, or any blindly accepted belief.
Now, fast forward four years from Rachel's birth, and you can see in this next picture that I have a very beautiful princess daughter and a cute puppy dog son, Keith (age 1). This adorable photo of brother and sister in their Halloween costumes was taken on the same day as the spooky ghost t-shirt picture. The shirt had been a pre-school art project and, in the eyes of my little girl, was no competition for a princess dress and jeweled tiara.
In 1998, the year after this picture was taken, J.K. Rowling's book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was released in the US. Three years later, the movie version was released in theaters. It was during this time that Harry Potter and his wizarding world, including Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, became quite controversial as Harry's fame and influence grew. Many concerned adults, members of the clergy, and parents of faith questioned whether Harry and his creator were leading children into or promoting interest in Wicca/witchcraft, divination (fortune-telling), magick, sorcery, astrology (horoscopes), occultism, paganism, necromancy, or even Satanism. Was Harry really such a bad influence? Wasn't the book and movie series only harmless fantasy entertainment? What was one to think about all this?
I too had grown up watching, not a wizard, but a witch named Samantha Stephens. She was played by the actress Elizabeth Montgomery on the classic TV series Bewitched. I loved to see her character twitch her nose to make magical things happen. It was zany fun to watch, especially as Samantha's mortal husband, Darren, had to deal with all of the crazy chaos. Also, no one could resist laughing at the nosy neighbor, Gladys Kravitz, and her wacky behavior. Her husband, Abner, never did believe any of her stories about strange things happening at the Stephens' house. Then there was Samantha's sweet Aunt Clara, whose blundering magic spells caused all kinds of problems for everyone. It was one of my favorite shows to watch. I'll readily admit, I had been bewitched by Bewitched.
My own children were still at a young and impressionable age when they and their entire generation were bewitched by Harry Potter and his charms. While the books and movies were definitely entertaining, as an adult and parent, I decided to objectively look at what was happening from a completely different perspective. I was intrigued by reading numerous press reports and hearing both pros and cons on the Potter phenomenon. When I heard from other trusted sources that they weren't exactly crazy about Harry's influence, I decided to investigate what the truth was. What I eventually discovered isn't just remarkable, it's truly miraculous!
I first began my investigation between the years 2000 and 2002. During this period, I read several books on the history of Halloween and several others about witchcraft. During my early research, there was really nothing earth-shattering about what I learned. It was, though, interesting history and it eventually formed an important foundation for what would come much later. As I continue this part of the story, I want you to consider each of the following facts as presented to be like individual puzzle pieces. When I finally put them together piece by piece, you'll soon see the big picture. It will be like the big reveal on a HGTV home renovation show, but the final WOW factor is all God's doing!
While investigating Halloween, I read Steve Russo's book, Halloween - What's A Christian To Do? I discovered a key passage that would later prove instrumental in helping me solve a mystery. I've underlined the most important parts that I want to specifically focus on. Here is what Steve says: "Halloween has its ultimate origins in the ancient Celtic (Irish, Scottish, Welsh) harvest festival, Samhain (pronounced so-wen), a time when people believed that the spirits of the dead roamed the earth. The Celts adopted Druid beliefs and customs, in pre-Christian days, to commemorate the end of summer and the last day of the year."
"As the power of the sun waned with the onset of winter, people were afraid that life itself, and not just the year, was coming to an end. They imagined that the night was haunted by ghosts and witches, and more particularly by the spirits of the dead who were revisiting their earthly homes. With the supernatural rampant, the night was full of danger and omens. Concerned for their survival. people employed every possible means to fortify the flames of the dying sun and to chase away, or at least pacify, the evil spirits. For this purpose they lit bonfires and sometimes offered gruesome sacrifices."
When I first learned about the extreme importance of the sun to the Celts' superstitious beliefs, it was then that the proverbial light bulb of inspiration was brilliantly illuminated. If you've read my previous three posts titled Beyond Believing, Mission Impossible, and Mission More Impossible, then you'll recall that directly following my NDE, I prophetically knew that I'd be married when the digital clock time reached 12:00 high noon. This is when the sun is at its full strength, power, and glory. This was the exact opposite of the Celts' dying sun. It was a key piece of information, but I still didn't know how it fit into the rest of the puzzle.
Having already read several books on the history of Halloween, I didn't see the need, nor did I have any real desire, to read any further on the subject. I'd read enough! And for the next twelve years, from 2002 to 2014, I didn't. That is, until 2015, when I suddenly had a strong desire to read more. I then ordered, among other books, Lesley Pratt Bannatyne's Halloween - An American Holiday, an American History. What I discovered is truly remarkable! It was the missing piece.
Before I tell you what I found, it's important to remember this timeline of events and facts. It was December 8, 1990, when I had my NDE and was shown the symbols, including the 11:21 a.m. digital clock and black cat. I then calculated when the clock would reach 12:00 high noon to determine when I'd be married. I told my parents, the minister from my church, and five co-workers at the Florida Attorney General's Office when I was going to be married. This all occurred before I met my wife and long before my daughter was born on Halloween.
While you read these next two passages from Halloween - An American Holiday, an American History, you'll discover, just as I did, something absolutely amazing. Based on the facts, only God could have put this together.
"The Druid belief that the eve of Samhain was the most potent night for prognostication seems also to have merged with aspects of the festival of Pomona: there are dozens of Halloween divination games from England, Ireland and Scotland that use apples and nuts to predict one's future spouse."
"For hundreds of years in Ireland, groups of girls gathered together at midnight on Halloween to perform their secret divinations with apples, fire, mirrors and yarn... Very early on, the excitement and romance of knowing one's future mate were Halloween's primary attraction in Ireland. It remained the most popular aspect of Halloween in both Ireland and America until this century... Throughout America, divining one's future husband was the most important function of Halloween."
Halloween marriage divination practiced at midnight, also known as the witching hour, is but a dark reflection, a mirror image, to the illuminated digital clock that I was shown by the Holy Spirit during my NDE. I prophetically knew by divine inspiration from God that I'd be married when the digital clock reached 12:00 high noon. It was the exact opposite of Halloween's midnight marriage divinations. It's important to note that divination, unlike divine inspiration, is the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means, apart from God.
Take a look at the following Halloween cards depicting marriage divination from the early 20th century. You'll notice in two of the pictures that the clocks are set at 12:00 midnight. The darkness of midnight, as I've mentioned before, is the exact opposite of high noon when the sun is at its full strength, power, and glory. What you're seeing in all this is the difference between light and darkness, good and evil. It is one of the great themes of the Bible. And to think, God miraculously put all this together by first showing me a digital clock and a black cat, then years later, having my daughter born on Halloween to tie it all together. Amazing!
As for the question of Harry Potter being a bad influence, consider this: There were midnight book releases and midnight movie releases that occurred during the witching hour for a very dark reason! His character, after all, was a boy wizard who practiced witchcraft. An important lesson to learn from all this is how Spiritism is strictly forbidden by God. The following verses are a clear warning against these practices.
"When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who call up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord" (Deuteronomy 18:9-12).
I began this post by saying that even in our present darkness, the Light of all hope still shines brightly. He shines as brightly as the noonday sun! It's my hope that by telling you my story, you can see that He isn't only alive and well, but He's hard at work. The Light of all hope, of course, is Jesus Christ.
In John 8:12, "Jesus spoke to the people and said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.'"
The next post titled Oh, it's you! begins at:
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