Two Sundays ago I was the lector and the Psalm for the Day was 104. As I read it, I remembered a piece I wrote a few years ago when I attended a conference for Lutheran writers. The Psalm tells of all the creatures, great and small, that God made. I hope you enjoy reading this.

Firefly Summer
Kate, one and a half, and Kyle, just past three, were in bed. Chris, the eldest child, lingered on the stairs. Obviously, he was not ready to settle down for the night. The three little ones were spending the weekend at Grammy's house, an anniversary gift to their parents.

As I looked out the window at the darkening sky, the first firefly flashed its Morse-code message to the night. "Let's go out and see the fireflies", I said, taking his small hand in mine. We stopped in the kitchen to pick up an empty pickle jar from the counter. "You have to make holes in the top so they can breathe", he told me in a knowing voice. This accomplished, we descended the back porch stairs and stepped out into the twilit backyard.

"There's one!" He scooped the bug out of the air and carefully put it in the jar. "I'll catch them and you hold the jar, Grammy." In his oversized white t-shirt and bare feet he looked like an undersized angel gathering stars. The image will stay in my mind forever.

When he had caught 23 - his idea of the perfect number for the jar - we went inside. We sat on the floor watching the bits of light climb the side of the jar and then drop like falling stars. "Hi fellas", he said the them, "Are you having a good time?" He was finally getting sleepy. "Time for bed, Chris", I said. "Do you want to take the fireflies upstairs, or do you want to take them outside and let them go?"

"Oh, Grammy, you have to let them fly away so they can tell their friends about it and you can catch them another time."

We went outside again, unscrewed the lid of the jar and said good-bye as we watched the insects fly away.

Contributed by Melanie H.
Published Monday June 19, 2000
Week 31 of Liturgical Year B