Lucy
the Lightning Bug Lets Her Light Shine
By Bill Conley
America’s Favorite Children’s Storyteller
Moral
of the Story
God created each of us with a
special light meant to shine in our own way and time. Even when our light seems
small compared to others, it can still guide someone who feels lost. The
brightness of your light doesn’t determine its worth; your willingness to shine
does. When you let your light shine, it encourages others to shine too, and
together the world becomes brighter. Never compare the way God made you to
anyone else; He designed your light for a purpose only you can fill. Every time you show kindness, courage, or love, your light grows stronger and
points others toward God.
The moon hung low over the quiet
meadow, and the air glowed with soft sparks of yellow light. It was a perfect
night for the lightning bugs to dance. They fluttered over the pond, blinking
and twinkling like tiny stars.
Among them was Lucy, a young
lightning bug with gentle wings and a shy smile. Her light was small, just a
little flicker that glowed for a moment, then faded softly away. Every night, she tried to shine a little brighter, but compared to her friends, her glow
seemed dim.
Lucy watched her friend Luna,
whose bright golden light lit up the whole pond. The frogs croaked for her, the
crickets chirped in rhythm, and everyone admired how radiant she looked in the
dark.
Lucy sighed. “My light is so tiny,”
she whispered. “No one will ever notice me. I wish I could shine like Luna.”
She tucked herself beneath a big
green leaf and looked at her faint reflection in the water. “Why would God give
me such a small light?” she wondered sadly.
Just then, her mother fluttered
beside her. “Lucy,” she said softly, “you mustn’t hide your light away. God
gave you the exact light you were meant to have.”
“But it’s so dim,” Lucy said. “It
doesn’t light up much of anything.”
Her mother smiled gently.
“Sweetheart, even the smallest light can brighten the darkest night. You never
know who might need it. Sometimes, one tiny light is enough to lead someone
home.”
That night, Lucy decided to stay up
later than usual. The air grew cool, and the stars began to fade behind a thick
layer of fog. Soon, the meadow was wrapped in mist so heavy that even Luna’s
glow disappeared into the gray.
Lucy fluttered carefully through the
fog, blinking her little light to see. That’s when she heard it, a soft cry
coming from the ground below.
“Hello?” Lucy called. “Who’s there?”
A frightened field mouse
peeked out from under a fern, trembling. “I’m lost,” the mouse said. “I can’t
see my home anymore. The fog came, and now I don’t know where to go.”
Lucy hovered above her. “Don’t be
scared,” she said kindly. “I’ll help you.”
“But your light, it’s so small,”
said the mouse.
Lucy smiled. “Maybe it’s small,” she
said, “but it’s still light. Follow me.”
She took a deep breath and glowed as
brightly as she could. Her tiny flicker pushed through the fog, lighting the
path one small step at a time. The mouse followed her glow across the damp
grass and around the pond’s edge. Lucy’s wings beat fast, and her heart
pounded, but she didn’t stop shining.
After a little while, the mouse
gasped with joy. “There’s my burrow!” she squeaked, spotting a hole near the
old oak tree. “We made it!”
Lucy beamed. “See? Your home was
never too far—you just needed a little light to find it.”
The mouse smiled gratefully. “Thank
you, Lucy. Your light may be small, but tonight it was brighter than any star.”
As Lucy watched her new friend
disappear into her burrow, her heart filled with warmth she had never felt
before. The fog still lingered, but somehow the night didn’t seem as dark.
Flying higher into the air, Lucy
whispered softly, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”
She sang the words again, and the
joy in her heart made her light grow brighter than ever before. Luna, who had
been searching for her, spotted the glow from across the meadow. “Lucy!” she
called. “Your light looks beautiful tonight!”
Lucy blushed. “It’s not the biggest
light,” she said, “but it helped someone who needed it. I think that’s what
shining is all about.”
Soon, the other lightning bugs
gathered around her, their lights twinkling in admiration. One by one, they
began to glow again, some bright, some dim, all different, all shining
together.
From above, the meadow looked like a
blanket of stars that had fallen to earth. Lucy watched the lights flicker and
dance, realizing that when everyone shone together, there was no such thing as
a small light.
That night, Lucy learned something
she would never forget: when you let your light shine for God, it doesn’t
matter how big or small it is. It just matters that you shine.
And every evening after that, as the
sun slipped behind the hills, Lucy could be found high above the pond, singing
softly to the rhythm of her glow:
🎵 This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine… let
it shine, let it shine, let it shine. 🎵
Poem
A tiny light, so faint, so small,
It can still bring hope to one and all.
For when it shines with love so true,
God’s mighty power glows through you.
So never hide your light away,
Let it guide hearts that lose their way.
Together, all our lights combine,
To make the world shine with God’s love.
Questions
for Thought
1.
Why did Lucy think her light wasn’t
important at first?
2.
How did her small light help the
lost mouse find its way home?
3.
What are some ways you can
let your light shine for Jesus every day?
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