Fireworks

Like thousands of other families, we watched fireworks on the 4^th of July.

I wondered what it is about fireworks that makes them so memorable. We talked at work the following Monday about where we had seen the best fireworks ever. We talked about how long the shows lasted. Everyone seemed to have a favorite fireworks story.

I can remember watching fireworks with my parents when I was little. We’d drive up to a point that looked out over our western Kentucky town and sit in the car to watch. I don’t remember getting out of the car, like we do now, but maybe we did some years.

The first fireworks show I watched with someone other than my parents was during the county fair. I was in high school, or maybe college, and was with a group that included a boy I had a crush on. We all had great fun saying “ooohh” and “aahh” to express our appreciation for the bigger explosions of sound and colors.

As a family, when our children were small, we made a big deal out of watching fireworks. We got to see them over a lake or river many times; the colors reflected off the water increase the pleasure of the spectacle. We watched them from the shadow of the Minnesota state capitol as the formations sparkled above us; another year we watched from a bridge that crosses over I-94 in St. Paul, about a mile away from the capitol.

One time, we set up “camp” on a blanket on the shores of the Mississippi to enjoy a boat parade followed by a fireworks display. During the parade, our four-year-old son fell asleep and when the fireworks began, he woke up suddenly and was scared. He began to cry, and I don’t remember enjoying the fireworks at all that year—not that I blamed him. We just didn’t realize how frightening it would be to a four-year old to wake up to that noise. I think he enjoys watching fireworks now, though. In fact, he and his wife saw the new year fireworks in Hong Kong a couple of years ago, and he said that our little displays just don’t compare.

So a fireworks show always brings back memories for me—and, I believe, for others. Perhaps it’s because these paintings in the sky are as close as we humans get to Creating something as big as the universe. When the chemicals explode and create those multicolor designs—how do they get a bunch of rockets to form happy faces and hearts?—it’s like a huge multidimensional sculpture that is rivaled only by nature’s fireworks.

The show we watched on the 4^th this year took place following a thunderstorm. So the fireworks were surrounded by an awesome lightning display as the storm moved away from us.

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship,” declared King David (Psalm 90:1, NLT).

That’s where we see the best fireworks. Ooohhh. Aaahhhh.