Fireflies

Summer 1997. Recreation field at camp. Full moon. Cloudy night. “If I wait long enough, then the clouds will eventually part and I’ll see the moon and it’ll be a wonderful life-parallel to how all murkiness in life will dissipate and God will be clearly seen.” Wait. Wait longer. Wait even longer. Clouds never break. Fireflies appear everywhere. Light pops up everywhere. Reminders of God surround me, in places I cannot predict.

May 20, 2013. Yard-scrap pile in my backyard. Sun setting. Cool evening. “If I keep pulling up this creeper then the plants and trees will be able to breathe again—just like we can breathe again when we work to get rid of the sin that separates us from the fullness of God.” Pull. Pull more. Pull even more. Get to a particularly stubborn root. Watch decaying debris and dirt ride into the air on said root that refuses to come out of the ground. Two fireflies glow. Hatching from larva buried in composting earth. Light shows up. A reminder of God surrounding me, in places I cannot predict.

“Fireflies, fireflies
Rays of hope, short feelings of peace
At the right time they come
To carry us through until the day we see the sun”

Wait and pray.
Wait and pray.
God is in our midst.
Wait and pray.
Show up.
Be present.
Hold to all that is.
Wait and pray.
Wait and pray.
God is in our midst.
Wait and pray.

God makes God’s presence known to us in big ways, yes. In moons and weed removal and miracles and more.

But God is with us in the ordinary, too—in all times and all places…in dirt and in fireflies.

May we each be willing to see that, sometimes, God reveals God’s presence in ways we least expect.

May we each see the literal and physical fireflies surrounding us today and in all the days to come.

Amen.

------

Writer's Note: Also, due to light pollution and the rapid decline of naturally damp and wooded habitats, fireflies are disappearing. Please join me in making environmentally wise decisions and caring for God’s beautiful creation.