There was once a little boy who lived in a little town in Kansas. 
It was soon to be Halloween and this little boy was very anxious 
to go with his parents to get pumpkins. He loved carving different 
faces in them. So one cold Saturday morning in October his parents 
took their son to a pumpkin patch near their home. 

They arrived, and the boy jumped out of the car and went on his 
search for his perfect pumpkins. There were so many to chose from. 
The boy finally found three perfect pumpkins and he brought them into 
his arms and he gave them to his mother so she could buy them and he 
could take them home. He was so excited to go and carve these pumpkins.

When he arrived at home, he asked his mother if they could start on 
these pumpkins. His mother replied sure.

The little boy had the biggest smile on his face. He and is mother 
started on the first pumpkin, they took out all the seeds out of the 
middle and then they started to make a face. They did the same thing 
for the next one. But while they were starting on the last pumpkin 
the little boy stopped what he was doing, and he looked at his mother
and said something his mother would never forget. 

He said mommy, these pumpkins are like us before we were Christians. 
His mother was very interested in what her boy had said. So she asked 
him to explain what he meant. The boy replied, well you see we are 
like these pumpkins, we are all dirty and we have all this sin inside 
before we accept Jesus into our lives. 

You see, God goes out like we did and picks us out of the whole patch 
and brings us into his arms and cleans us off and takes out all the 
junk and he puts a smile on our face and he shines through us, like 
when we put a candle in these pumpkins were making. 
God does the same thing. 

After all this his mother was amazed with what her son had said. She 
just held her son in her harms and wept. The mother never looked at 
pumpkins the same way again.


By Calder Hendrickson