Once upon a time there was a summer evening alight with the glow of fireflies…
I love fireflies. I love to watch them on a warm summer night as they light up my back yard. I love the joy they bring to little girl faces and the way they bring back memories of jars on the sill and my own childhood.
There’s something about the magical appearance of fireflies that makes me think of God. That God would see fit to create such an insect. An insect that shines light in the darkness, an insect that makes even the most ordinary night in summer seem like something from a fairy tale speaks to His unrivaled creativity and His passionate love.
My girls have a book that we love to read at bedtime. It’s titled, Sleep Baby Sleep, by Maryann Cusimano Love. My favorite verse in the story goes like this:
Shine, baby, shine,
Graceful child of mine.
Be like the firefly who glows
No matter how the darkness grows.
Shine, baby, shine.
When God made the firefly He didn’t just give us beauty He gave us a picture, a reminder of life.
This world, it’s full of darkness but we who know Christ have a light inside us. A beautiful light, a magical light. And we are at our best, and our brightest, and our most beautiful when we shine that light in the darkness.
Most of the time we long to shy away from the dark, but this is not what God has for us. Instead, He longs for us to shine in the dark, in the black of night, when this world needs His light the most. He longs for us to enter in, to take on the messy, to take on the shadow, and make a difference by offering beauty, by offering hope, by offering light and life.
Brave Prince, Lovely Princess may you wake up this day to the fairy tale found in the magic, in the beauty of fireflies. May you look out your window or stand on your lawn and revel in the truth of their light.
In light that glows in the darkess, in hope that beams in the night, in Christ who shines in us.
Nice word pictures! I can see the little lights moving through the night.
Thanks for reading, Sally!
I had just thought to myself, “I need to slow down I haven’t even noticed fireflies this year.” Thank for the reminder.
Your so welcome. Glad it came at the perfect time. Enjoy!
Hi Jennifer! I was thinking, “I wonder why I don’t see much from Jennifer lately?” For some odd reason, your blog post notifications in my email, were going to my spam! They sure don’t know what they’re doing! So I’m catching up on some of your wonderful writing tonight! Great job. Keep up the good work, and you’re inspiring me to keep going. Even with two little girls at home, you get a lot more writing done than me lately. Thank you!
Yes! Myrna, keep going and don’t you dare stop! Thank you for stopping by and taking some time to read, that means so much to me. You are one of my biggest supporters and always and encouragement to me. Thank you so much, you are a treasure!