Lightning Bug
By Peggy Kleckner
“....let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16 (NIV)
I am always delighted when I notice God’s encouragement in my day. Sometimes, it is a large display and some days it is simple and very small. The other night I looked up just in time to spot a firefly outside the bedroom window...just one going by lit up. I smiled in secret joy, knowing that He knew I had noticed.
So, what’s the big deal? I mean really, a firefly is just a beetle. Ah, but a beetle with the gift of light! Who hasn’t been tickled by the display of fireflies lighting up the night? Perhaps you have even taken a mason jar out at night and chased after them, collecting them and then setting that jar on a picnic table to watch the display of God’s splendor in the body of a bug!
I have to tell you that I have enjoyed thinking about that bug all week. I was struggling with some discouragement that particular day, and that little light was enough to remind me that I serve a very BIG God. The bug’s light isn’t constant - - it flashes on and off - - but it still lights up the night around itself. I am lit up by my BIG God and my little light might be used by Him at just the right time to encourage someone. I don’t have to be perfect to be used by God to point others to Him.
I couldn’t help giggling when I thought of the worship song with the line that says, “He has told every lightning bolt where it should go.” So, I have been singing to myself, “He has told every lightning bug where it should go.” [1] Yep, right past my window in order to encourage me!
The funniest conclusion to this story is that about two days later, I came back from a walk to have my husband tell me of his encounter with a firefly right in the den of our house! He was watching TV when he noticed a small green light....that moved. He had to wait a minute for it to fly away from the light of the TV in order to catch it and release it back outside.
I am hoping that he too was encouraged that God indeed does tell every lightning bug where it should go!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What or whom did God use to encourage you this week?
2. What small thing can you do to encourage a friend or neighbor?
FURTHER READING:
Peggy is a wife and mother of four adult children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.
