Let it shine

I sat quietly in the gathering dark on the deck of the cabin we rented for vacation. My favorite time of the day in the Smoky Mountains had arrived.

Willing my eyes to be still and wait, trying not to blink. In a few seconds, it began. The natural fireworks display.

One pinprick of light here … then gone. There … then gone. Then there were three. Then seven … ten … thirteen….

Like sparks rising out of a flame, the little fireflies appear for a second. Just as the eye moves to the spot where the light appeared, the fire winks out - only to appear again a few feet away.

As the darkness wraps it’s cool, whispy arms around me, the little bugs put on a grand lighting display, accompanied by a symphony of crickets and frogs, joined by the occasional owl.

I remember my brother and I catching a firefly when we were kids visiting our grandma in Louisiana. Growing up in Orlando where there were no lightning bugs, we were fascinated with the little creatures whose backsides lit up like tiny flashlights as they flew around after dark. We caught one of the bugs and put it in a jar that Grandma gave us so that we could keep it. We thought that it would make a great night light. But, alas, the little bug died before the next morning.

I sat reminiscing about the fireflies of my childhood and smiled with delight at the private fireworks display that my Creator prepared just for me.

Out of nowhere, the song rambled through my mind…

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel –No! I’m gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel –No! I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Let is shine till Jesus comes, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine till Jesus comes, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

I wonder if the songwriter was watching fireflies….