“Grandpa, are you going to sleep in the tent with us too?"
“No, I think Cindy and I will sleep in the house. You have a good time, but be sure to bring Cindy into the house before you settle down.”
My grandkids, Reggie and MaryAnn, and I were excited at the thought of spending the night in the tent. My husband Herb had mowed a spot in the evergreens a short distance from our house where a missing tree left a cozy little clearing.
We had made almost all the preparations. The tent was set up and ready, with sleeping bags and pillows. Snacks were already in the tent, as well as favorite books and a flashlight.
I thought it would be fun to have a jar of lightning bugs in the tent, and we planned to catch them at dusk.
My feeble husband was not up to sleeping on the ground, so Cindy, our beagle cross, was to occupy her usual spot by his bedside.
After supper was put away, dishes done, and showers in Grandpa's downstairs bathroom, the excitement grew as it was getting closer to the time to go to the tent.
But Cindy was barking at something in a tree up the hill by the neighbors' house, so we went to bring her back to the house. She really did not want to give up on her critter, and would not even let us get close to her.
The sun had dropped out of sight, and lightning bugs were starting to flicker here and there, but there was nothing else to do but go back to the house and get Cindy's leash, which she totally respected.. With leash in hand, the three of us soon caught her, and convinced her to come back to the house, where we took her to Grandpa's bedroom.
Now to catch some lightning bugs! I grabbed a small jelly jar and cover, but Mary Ann persuaded me that we needed holes in the cover.
Well, of course, that was the humane thing to do, so to the workbench we went to find a nail and hammer to make a few quick holes.
All the while, darkness was settling down around us. We could see the moving glow of the firefly, but could not follow him after the light went out. Our quest became a series of futile dashes here and there, but after the flash of light, the little insect was lost against the backdrop of evergreens.
I think I was more disappointed than the kids were. It had been a long time since this old grandma had caught lightning bugs and gone to sleep with their phosphorescent glow serving as a living night light.
“Grandma, we don't have to have lightning bugs. After all, they would just be dead in the morning. They always are.”
Reggie was right. We didn't have to have them.
Since we couldn't catch them anyway, we gave up and headed down the path toward the tent. I was still carrying the jar in my right hand.
As we walked through the trees, swinging my arms in a relaxed stride, I felt a cool spot on my right thumb. Without thinking, I brought my left hand over and stroked my thumb.
Imagine my surprise to see a firefly’s glow between my loosely curled fingers! Using only my thumb and forefinger, I was able to loosen the cover on the jar.
Almost afraid to breathe, I quickly dropped him into the jar and replaced the cover!
Letting out a squeal of delight to the kids who had walked on ahead, I excitedly announced, “Look what I have! A lightning bug!” Then, in a more serious tone, “This is a lightning bug from Jesus!”
They were awed to hear how the little fellow had come to sit on my thumb! We gave him a place of honor in the tent, between the books and the cookies and fruit.
Whenever the kids stay over, we read Bible stories. The crossing of the Red Sea and Jonah and the whale seemed even more powerful by flashlight. The little jar with our lightning bug was a reminder that the God who did these mighty things had just done a special little exciting thing for us. We then went outside for snacks (to prevent crumby sleeping bags), and back inside for prayers.
How often do you think God hears children include a firefly in their list of thank you's for a happy summer day?
“What do we do next?” I asked. “I've never camped out before, so you will have to tell me what comes next."
"Ghost stories!!”
"Really? But I don't know any." I was concerned about Mary Ann, only 3 years old, and did not want to scare her.
Reggie knew one, so he proceeded to tell us about the old couple who got a phone call, and then a knock on their door, both of which brought the same scary message:
“Bloody Fingers! Bloody Fingers! Coming to get you! Coming to get you!” Since Reggie was telling the story, my role was to be scared, so I waved my hands in front of my face and groaned in fear, at which both kids laughed hysterically.
“Grandma, it's just pretend!” Reggie assured me.
And Mary Ann added, "It's just ‘petend,' Grandma!"
So I would settle down until the next time. After the third repeating of the "Bloody Fingers''line, when the old man opened the door, we find it is only a boy with a small cut on his hand. Then we all laughed, as the joke was on me for being scared.
I was pleased that a 6-year old could tell a story so well!
It was time for Lights Out, and we held up the lightning bug to see him still blinking away. Reggie was soon breathing deeply, and Mary Ann softly singing herself to sleep. It took me a little longer, lying on the hard ground and thinking of Herb in our comfortable bed! I had not mentioned air mattresses when I asked my daughter if we could use the tent and sleeping bags.
But sleep did come, and morning also. To our surprise, we found the lightning bug was still alive! Was it because he was just one little bug in the jar, instead of 30 or more usually crowded in? Or was it because our loving God, who created lightning bugs in the first place, who called this one to sit on my thumb and be captured, also chose to keep him alive so we could be doubly delighted to give him back to Jesus in the morning?
Since I tend to call upon God mainly for the big problems, this little miracle has shown me that God really does love us, and is happy to give us joy in all measures. That the God who holds the universe in His hands would arrange such a delightful little miracle for a silly old grandma and her two beloved grandchildren, is evidence that He not only cares about our necessities, but also all of the little things we take pleasure in. And the more credit we give Him, the more we praise and thank Him, the more He will give us and do for us.
I imagine He was sitting up in Heaven chuckling at all the fun we had on our night in the tent!
