Fireflies in the Night

The sun is setting and you are sitting outside soaking up the last few moments of the light before the darkness seems to take over.  Crickets are starting to chirp and the world seems to go quiet as you watch the sun slip away for yet another night.  If you are one of those that live in a small town or in the country, all becomes dark and quiet.  No cars or sirens in the distance.  No street lights making it seem as if it is still daytime.  Darkness has come as another day is over.  But suddenly as you sit there taking it all in, you notice flickers of light.  They may be small and not give off much light but yet their presence is made known.  Even if you aren't looking directly at them, you still see them out of the corner of your eye.  They are bright and shine vibrantly in the darkness.....

While we were living in MN, we saw fireflies on occasion.  But nothing like we have seen since we moved to SD.  Last night as we finished off the few fireworks we had, I stood there in our backyard and I was in awe.  They filled our backyard.  Their little lights flickering constantly.  Making sure the world sees them.  Letting us know that while darkness has fell, they are still there....shining brightly.  

(This isn't our yard, but it sure looks like it)

And as I stood there, I remember how dark the world seems to most of us right now.  So much terror, so much evil.....so much that some days it is hard not to feel like that darkness is going to consume us.  That this world we live in is going to continue to fall into that big black hole and there is nothing we can do to stop it.  Some days we even wonder what the point of trying to let our own lights shine in it is.  We think that because we aren't anyone famous or 'significant' that how we reach out and try to change the world doesn't matter.  I know I have.  Things happen that left us with a huge hole in our hearts.  That made our hearts burn with anger and tears for how far the world has fallen.  Turn on the news for just 5 minutes and you will walk away feeling like its all out of our hands.  That the world is what it is and there is nothing we can do to change it.  And while it is true that we will never be able to stop the darkness from coming, the light that Jesus placed inside of our hearts does matter.  It is significant.  It is something that the world can see whether they choose to admit it or not.

See as I was standing in that backyard and watched the black of the night surround me, I wasn't consumed by it.  What I was consumed by were all those little tiny fireflies dancing around me.  Their light beckoning me to them.  My eyes were drawn to them.  And in that moment the Lord reminded me that human hearts are drawn to the light.  That even though darkness seems to swallow up the world around us, the eyes of the people are drawn to the ones who are still letting their lights shine as brightly as possible.  There are still people out there standing in the middle of the blackest of black night they can imagine, and their hearts are yearning to be drawn to that light.....to be drawn towards hope.  

My heart longs to be like those fireflies.  They don't seem to care that the darkness has taken over, in fact they seem to dance in it.  They don't go and hide until the morning comes.  They don't care if they are small and feeling insignificant.  All they do is just continue to let those tiny lights shine.  I want the world to be drawn to my heart because they see the light of Jesus burning brightly inside of it.  I want them to be reminded that the darkness doesn't have to consume them.  I want them to see the light of Jesus and know that no matter what evil has done to take over this world, there is hope.  There is still good in the world.  All we have to do is to always remember to have our eyes be drawn to the light.  Because that is our instinct.....we just sometimes get lost in the darkness.  We let the night consume us, instead of being drawn to the glowing hearts of those who are still letting their hearts shine brightly. 

You matter in the kingdom of God.  The fire in your heart that burns brightly for His glory is seen.  It is needed in this dark night.  You might not reach millions of hearts.  You might not reach thousands or even hundreds.  In fact sometimes you might think you just reached one.  But that one IS significant to the Lord.  Every single soul matters to Him. So as this darkness continues to fall around us, let that little firefly inside you burn as brightly as the sun.  It might not touch the whole earth, but those around you will be drawn to it.  And it will spread the kind of hope this world needs more of.  The kind of hope that will make the darkness not seem so dark after all.....