Every year around this time, my kids would bring home pillowcases full of candy. We’d dump them out on the living room floor and check the wrappers, meticulously looking for anything out of the ordinary while sorting out all the Tootsie Rolls, Twizzlers, and Smarties.
You know—the garbage.
I’d take my “dad tax” for the hard work, usually a few handfuls and at least one Reese’s PBC, and the kids would round up their haul and run off to their rooms to sort and trade.
But this year, the house is going to be quiet. No costumes. No candy. No chaos. Both of my kids have officially aged out of Trick-or-Treating, and I’m left with nothing but a craving for chocolate and a wave of nostalgia.
I could just go buy my own candy—but that’s not really the point, is it? Traditions come and go. Seasons shift. The things that once filled our nights with laughter eventually become memories that fill our hearts instead.
And in all of it, one thing remains steady: God doesn’t change. His sweetness doesn’t fade. His goodness isn’t seasonal. Even when what used to be “ours” moves into the past, His presence keeps giving us something better—something lasting.
That’s the kind of sweetness you never grow out of.
