"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort
you." ~ Isaiah 66:13
They burn slowly rather than
exploding like firecrackers. Of course
I’m talking about sparklers and my Mom loved them! The way they crackled and danced like tiny falling
stars.
She always brought plenty to our family cottage on the lake.
We'd sit near the water's edge and wave
our sparklers, writing our names and drawing intricate designs in the air. Their magic never dimmed even as Mom’s health
did.
We shared a glass of Chianti one summer night on the balcony
of her assisted living apartment. I’d
been mostly quiet, still hurting from a painful divorce. Mom knew – she always did.
She re-entered her residence, brought out a box of sparklers
and lit one. It burst into dazzling white
light and sizzled all the way to the bottom of the stick! The mini-starbursts
chased years from her face. “No problem is
too big for God's light,” she said.
Reassurance washed over me like a warm blanket. Her mere presence acted like a transfusion of
her unwavering faith. I knew everything
would be alright!
Years later, Mom passed away peacefully. I was
left the task of cleaning out her apartment - emptying cabinets and closets,
donating furniture to a thrift store, and boxing clothes and linens for the
church rummage sale. I scrubbed every
inch of that apartment; Mom would've wanted it that way.
Alone now, there were only memories: faded paint on the
walls where pictures had hung, slight indents in the carpet where furniture had
been. It was almost as if Mom had never
lived there at all, and in that instant all the sadness I'd kept in check in
the days following Mom's funeral welled up within me. She was gone . . . forever.
I began checking kitchen cabinets one last time. And there it was! On the bottom shelf of a cabinet that I’d
already emptied, laid a thin silvery thing—one lone sparkler.
I immediately too it out onto the balcony, struck a match
and lit it. As sparks popped and
sputtered, I was moved by their brilliance; inspired mostly by my mother’s
faith. A spark of heaven here on earth,
like Mom's last sparkler.
Some mothers teach their children to knit, bake or garden. My mom taught me to love, to pray and to have
faith. To me those are the most
important life lessons, the rest can be learned from a book.
Just as a skillful mother is able to pacify and quiet the
woes of her child, so is God with us. He
will soothe you . . . calm your troubles . . . enable you to unburden your pain
to the One whose wings we shelter under.
Lord, like the brilliance of a sparkler in
the night’s blackness, fill us with Your holy light. Let the radiance of Your coming expel the darkness
of sin. May our lives mirror our love
for You whose love comforts us and whose wisdom guides us. Amen
