Fireflies

by Fay Barlow
(Lexington, Sc)

2nd Corinthians 10:4-5
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Imagine a little girl dancing and twirling around in a field at dusk. As the sun begins to make its daily decent and darkness gently falls, fireflies are performing their own sweet dance to usher in the praise of night.

The little girl, fascinated by the glowing creatures, squeals with delight as she chases after them, hoping to catch and hold on to the illuminated species. As she slows her pace and softens her feet against the damp ground, she maneuvers her body and hands in a position to capture the bright light that has eluded her thus far.

She follows closely as a firefly lands on a leaf, and gently cups her hands to catch the precious light. She has it! It is in her possession, glowing on and off in her small hands, as if it there was a switch attached to its tiny frame.

She is astonished at her quest and runs to her father who has been watching from a short distance. She proudly and carefully shows him her find and waits for the approval and applause of this conquering princess.

As her father peers into her small hands to examine her jewel, he produces a jar filled with flowers. It is here that the firefly will stay, to light up her own special garden. It is here that her father tells her that the light from the firefly and the flowers are a reminder of how lovely she is and how her own countenance lightens his life and blooms flowers of love in his heart.

Now imagine that the little girl is every girl of every age that has struggled with daunting thoughts about her value. And the fireflies are those thoughts that run through our minds on a daily basis, not just at sunset, but every minute of every day.

The thoughts are those that condemn us for not “being enough”. Thoughts that whisper to us that we “can’t do it”. Desperate thoughts that cloud our minds with shame and fear and cause our own countenance to fall.

These thoughts are like fireflies. They are bright. They catch our attention and without knowing it, we chase after them. We too, like the little girl, carefully position our hands and hearts to capture them. But it is what we do after they are held in our hands that will determine our future.

We, like the little girl, need to bring our “firefly thoughts” to our Father and let Him examine them to see if they are thoughts that will capture our minds in truth or in lies. We need to let our Father tell us whether these thoughts are in obedience to what His word says about who we are.

If we allow Him, He will peer into our hands and either shake His head, “no” at those thoughts that tell us we are unworthy, because His word says we hold great value. Or He will smile and shake His head, “yes” at those thoughts that speak life and joy in our lives and those that remind us of our position as His daughters.

We have brought into captivity the thoughts that enter our minds and have offered them to our Father as a gift, knowing that He will only receive the fireflies that bring light into our lives.

The ones that darken our spirit will be pushed away while the ones that lighten and strengthen our souls become the illumination in a beautiful garden. And this is a garden that our Father wants to fill to capacity. A garden that is meant to shine brighter than the brightest of lights.

The Father weeps over the garden that has little light, because where there is little light, few flowers will grow. And He weeps over the firefly thoughts that we catch and put into our lives without allowing Him to examine them first.

I want to learn the art of capturing my thoughts like a little girl would capture fireflies. I want to bring every thought captive to my Father, God and let Him tell me whether the firefly thoughts are meant to burn a lie in my heart or light a garden of growth in my life.