Our family, too, has a fireworks tradition. Though we have been in town and had a chance to experience Columbus, Ohio's "Red, White, & Boom" on several occasions, our favorite spot is The Chautaqua on Lake Erie, Lakeside. There, along the lake, we often sit with friends while enjoying a cool lake breeze and experience a close up view of the spectacular light display against the dark sky.
The fireworks displays in larger cities are quite intricate. Pyrotechnicians spend all year writing and planning programs to synchronize each sound and burst of color with songs, taking months to perfect. Some are even shown on television. I guess if you have one of those gigantic screen TVs with HD, blue-ray, life sized, surround sound, theater seating, it's just like being there?
One of the reasons we love our time at Lakeside is because the environment there doesn't allow the meaning of the day to get lost. The prelude to the fireworks is a huge bicycle parade including dozens and dozens of children, followed by a float parade infused with patriotism and family fun, and then on to a day of family picnics. We are celebrating freedoms given to us by God and embraced by our country.
God is at the center of Lakeside, so just as chairs and blankets line the parade route and then the lake for the fireworks display on the 4th of July, people line the pier every evening to see God's light display, the sunset.
As I stop to reflect on faith and fireworks, I think of how often we work so hard at creating something special to awe and inspire-- spectacular half time shows at football games, intricate light displays at Christmas, gigantic Easter egg hunts, time staking landscapes in our yards, and most recently, elaborate fireworks displays on the 4th of July. The months of planning for the 4th of July are appreciated once a year, but the sunsets God spoke into being in a millisecond along with His many other creations can be appreciated every day.