(Photo courtesy Audubon.org)
I have fond memories of catching fireflies as a kid…or lightning bugs as my friends and I used to call them. There was a tree line and an open field behind our house and I remember running around after sunset with bare feet in the cool grass carefully grasping these beautiful creatures inside my hands and placing them inside a glass jar with holes on the top. The little guys lit up my jar like Christmas lights and I was in awe of the wonder of them. I felt sorry for them though and quickly released them back into the night sky and they happily flew off shining their lights goodbye at me.
Yesterday my friends took me to Tobu Zoo about an hour drive from their home in Inage. This place was a zoo, amusement park, and water park. It was too windy to ride many rides, and the water park was not open yet but of course my favorite part was the zoo anyway. I am an animal lover and although I have a love, hate feeling towards zoos because many of the animals are confined in small cages, I feel blessed to have an opportunity to observe them and give thanks to God for making them.
We saw so many beautiful animals I cannot even remember them all. But my favorites were the lemurs, the white tiger, the ring tailed lemurs, the kangaroos, and the fireflies. Yes, I said fireflies. Most people in Japan live in urban areas and it is uncommon to see these little flying bugs that light up the sky. The zoo had a special exhibit for them and it was the most relaxing place I had been in a while. We sat in a dark room for about 15 minutes to allow our eyes adjust to the darkness while listening to soothing music with nature sounds. I almost drifted off to sleep. Then the curtain was raised and thousands of fireflies lit up the stage. The memories from my childhood came flowing back and I began to weep. I felt an overwhelming feeling of how much I have taken for granted in my life. People pay to see these creatures and I have been in their midst all along.
God has an amazing way of showing up at unexpected times to show His love. I don’t expect or wait for these moments anymore because they just seem to happen naturally when I stopped looking. Surprises make life much sweeter. When you live life in the presence of God, His love tends to show up everywhere. Today I am grateful for the fireflies…
“Let’s live tonight like fireflies
And one by one light up the sky
We disappear and pass the crown
You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful”
Blessings,
Stacey ~ iamalive
I heard this song in the car as we were leaving the zoo. The beautiful thing about music is that you can interpret the lyrics to have a meaning that’s special to you. If you’re reading this via the newsletter please go to www.iamalive41.com to view the video Beautiful Now.