Fireflies

I cannot remember ever seeing them before we moved here,
Except in books,
Though perhaps it’s that I just never noticed.
But now I sit and watch
The fireflies.

The darkness has settled a cool blanket over the world,
And the music of frogs and crickets fills the air.
I can never seem to guess where they will be,
But I delight each time I see their fierce and lovely blaze.
One draws close.
I watch as he hovers silently –
Then suddenly he blazes from within
A burst of light.
A few moments later he glows again
And a little further on still another blaze.

It is like my own life –
When I hold tight to the Lord,
The source of all light,
I can burn bright,
Light seeping from a broken clay jar,
Lit from within,
Light in the darkness.

And yet I can’t always seem to keep shining,
Especially when I lean on my own strength
Instead of His.
But each bright flash,
I find myself a little further
On my journey Home,
As long as I let God lead me.

May we all learn to shine God’s light within –
Brighter, surer, steadier.
It depends
Not on bioluminescence
Nor our own feeble efforts
But rather an utter surrender to the Light Himself.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ~ John 1:5

For it is you who light my lamp;
    the Lord my God lightens my darkness. ~ Psalm 18:28

Photo by Tony Phan on Unsplash