Freddie the Firefly

I know I’ve shared before what lovely memories I have of fireflies [lightening bugs to us in the South.] I spent many, many hours of my youth chasing these little bits of light around at dusk. And even now, in my 50s, I still watch expectantly to see the first firefly of the season – usually mid March for us.

I don’t chase them around anymore [could I catch one if I tried?] But I cherish the memories of catching them in mason jars and taking them into the back bedroom with a passel of cousins and telling stories by their light until bedtime. – I’m pretty sure we let them go before going to bed, because I have NO MEMORY of waking up to a bunch of little dead fireflies in our jars, or maybe that’s just too traumatic to remember. LOL.

So I was thrilled when Craig surprised me with a firefly that will live eternally [I’ve affectionately named him Freddie.] So now, every night I can tap on his jar and watch him fly around blinking and blinking – shining his light in the darkness. And isn’t that what God wants us to do?

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 – New American Standard [Translation]

You know, Freddie can’t light up a whole room – but he does make a difference. He gives me a little happy feeling every time I hear him flutter around and see him blink his light. And we can do that for others – sometimes our purpose is to just shine quietly right here, where we are. We don’t have to wait until we think we can light up a whole room, or until something BIG comes along that we think God is calling us to do – He’s calling us to blink – blink – blink – to shine our light right here, right now, in our little corner of the world. He wants to use us to bring a little happy to the world around us so that others can see His light and live eternally.

Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to bring light – bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – SHINE! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up to God, our generous Father in heaven. - Matthew 5: 14-16 - The Message [Paraphrase]