Trailing Glory

July 4th is still a week away, but we’re already anticipating sparklers, poppers, and assorted other low-power pyrotechnics at our house. My husband is the pyro master (his mother would tell you she saw that coming from a young age!), and is training the girls in the art of proper (and safe!) fireworks displays.

As I was looking back through pictures from previous years’ July 4th celebrations, I saw this one, and it reminded me of this wonderful quote that I recently discovered through my friend Bill Butler’s Maya Angelou Tribute.

“I believe that each of us comes from the Creator, trailing wisps of glory.” – Dr. Maya Angelou

Poets such as Angelou and Wordsworth have said it much better than I ever could, and I can’t help but agree with them.

There is something profoundly worth thinking about in this quote. We don’t just show up on this earth by chance – we come from somewhere. From Someone. And we don’t just show up all covered in goop and the stench of a broken world, but we arrive still trailing the glory of our Creator behind us.

Is this why all babies are beautiful? Why children have a certain light in their eyes? Maybe that spark is short lived in some people, due to circumstances and life getting in the way. But with each sunrise or sunset, with each rainbow after a storm, each hug from a friend, we sense that connection. That trail of glory, leading back to our Creator.

This, as I’ve said before, is why we respond to beauty and seek it out. We came from something more, and we were created for something more.

So go out and grab some sparklers this week. Light ’em up, and as you’re staring into the mesmerizing swirl of light, think about this. You cannot just look at a spark. Your eye is inevitably drawn back to the source. As beautiful as it is, no spark can exist on its own for more than a second or two, so our eyes seek the fire, not just the spark. And that is a good way to live our lives.

Happy July 4th, everybody! Be safe with those fireworks, and go look for some beauty. I promise it’s there.