lightning bugs and tranquility

The other night after an event at church, we went to Sherwood Gardens--a lovely green space in the middle of  Baltimore City.

It was about 8:30, dusk, quiet and no one was around. It was so serene. We sat in the grass and watched lightning bugs for a long while. There seemed to be hundreds of the little creatures, charming us with a light show. We did not hear any cars driving by, nor any sirens, car alarms, shouting--the usual clamor of this bustling city--only the breeze through the trees and the fluttering of firefly wings.

It felt as if we were back at our respective childhood homes, both in the rural Northeast, where we both spent many nights chasing lightning bugs in our middle-of-nowhere towns.

Thank you, God, for giving us this little respite of peacefulness in nature in the middle of our city.