Lightning Bugs

Today has been a scrub the carport and front porch day. I was fortunate to be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor this evening and tonight by getting some 'porch time' in.
While sitting there, I saw my first lightning bug! Yes, I got excited! (OK-It doesn't take much...)

I was immediately taken back to the later part of May, 1978 when I was in a mini-term class at Carson Newman College. The two week class consisted of botony, ornithology, geology, and survival. The first week we stayed on campus doing 'class' work, taking short hikes, awakening early to see the birds, etc.

The second week was the most fun. We literally were dropped off somewhere (I honestly still don't know where) in the Smoky Mountains. For three days and nights we backpacked, hiked and camped on the trail eating sea rations and communing with nature. Our destination was the parking lot at Abrams Falls where we were picked up and taken to our base camp at Elkmont for the remainder of the week.

The first day of our trip was highlighted by Major Reed, our ROTC survival instructor, killing a rattlesnake that appeared near his foot as he was pitching his tent. Some of us snacked on the serpent-I knew that would probably be the only time I would ever have the chance to taste it, and it has been, so far.

On the second night of our expedition, Professor Dickenson took us to one of the most brilliant, awesome light shows I have ever seen. He had been to this particular grass-carpeted area right smack dab in the center of the forest several times before. When we arrived at this clearing, he instructed us to turn off our flashlights. Lo and behold, right before our very eyes, we were witness to one of the greatest sightings of bioluminescense! It was a gazillion lightning bugs and glow worms, flashing and lighting up in hopes of courtship and mating! The female glow worms would light up in the grass and the male lightning bugs would swarm to them like a flash of lightning. It was a well-synchronized dance. We all marveled at this creation and I knew then that I had become a member of an elite group who had this opportunity that very few people even knew about.

I think of my childhood summer nights carrying a glass mayo jar with a metal lid that had holes poked in it with a knife to allow the lightning bugs oxygen. Dan, my BFF from across the street, and other neighborhood kids would have wonderful times catching the bugs with a glow-in-the-dark rear end!

To quote an anonymous writer, "God created so much diversity in this world, much more than is needed for mere survival. He made all of this for us, and He wants us to enjoy it. We can get so busy surrounding ourselves with man-made goods that we don't notice the living tapestry that God has laid out all around us. I guess lightning bugs do have a purpose after all. They are a reminder of a creative God who loves us so much, He'd paint the rear end of a bug... just to see us smile."

I'm sure He saw me smile tonight!