Last night, after drinking yet another bottle of water, I felt a little sloshy inside (Is sloshy a word? There's a little squiggly, red line underneath it in draft, so I'm gonna guess it's not). I thought I should probably sit down for a bit and decided to go out on the front porch. It was dusk and raining, and the fireflies were really thick! I just sat there watching them flying in the rain and was struck by how comforting the sight of those little glowing bugs is for me. Most kinds of bugs make my skin crawl, but if it has a light strapped to it's body, I'm enchanted by it. Why is this?
I actually had a philosophical/theological moment while watching the fireflies... All of us are drawn to natural light. But natural light sources like the sun and stars are big and distant. We can never reach them. Watching little, tiny natural light sources fly around your yard makes you feel not so small. Suddenly lights in the darkness are as easy to hold as a bug. Then, I was struck with "Why did God put a light on a bug?" "What practical purpose does that serve?" Following that line of thinking, I concluded that He did it because it was pretty and because it makes us happy. Those little blinking lights are a reminder that God is near and loves to give us good things. And while His light is just as unattainable and distant as the stars, He's given us the chance to hold it in our hands.
I got these thoughts from a bug. I'm either weird or brilliant.
-Song
I love this thought. I've never seen a firefly--we were hoping to catch a glimpse on our trip to Texas. They sound incredible.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I didn't realize they weren't all over the country! Where do you live? I wish I could send a few to you! They are one of my favorite things about summertime. :)
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ReplyDeleteYour writing is beautiful and inspirational Anna! I look forward to reading your post each week :) and I too, just love little "fireflies"!… although in Missouri we've always called them "lightning bugs"! :)
ReplyDeleteWow Lily, thank you so much! It means a ton to hear from readers and know that I'm clicking with them! :) Haha! I'm originally from Alabama, and we called them "lightning bugs" there, too. Now, that I'm in Ohio, I find myself saying both. :)
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