April 1st is often called April Fool’s Day, and its a great time to prank someone.

Back in the early 1970s I was the youth director at the Waterloo Church of Christ. We had a big Halloween party at our old farmhouse for the teens. Part of the party was an after-dark hay-ride on a hay-filled wagon pulled by Cliff Lockwood. During that hay-ride, Cliff slowed the tractor to a crawl through a wooded area near Cedar Creek. I told the teens a fabricated story about how an old man was murdered years ago in this woods and from time to time his ghost was known to come out after dark and attack people, so they should keep an eye out.

About that time we crossed a single-lane bridge over the creek. As pre-arranged, several of the adult youth workers came up out of the woods and began moaning at the kids. One of the men got too close and grabbed one of the teens by the ankle. This scared the teen so badly that he (or she) kicked the man in the face and knocked him out cold. Now the man was really moaning and the teens were screaming and crying. What was supposed to be fun turned out to be an April fool’s disaster.

I think sometimes some of the things that happen in our lives are a bit of a trick God plays on us. What we hate turns into a blessing. What we fear opens doors. Who can figure out the ways of the Lord? We never get to see what God has planned for our hayride until we get back home and get to retell our stories of survival. I believe in heaven we’ll all have a good laugh with Him.

Tags: fear, prank