Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday and Monday, July 5 and 6, 2026
I’m writing this on July 4. It’s evening, so the bombs are bursting in air.
There’s something about a holiday that takes you back. I’m remembering the 4th of July parades of my childhood, where firemen would throw wrapped candy from their trucks, a marching band would bring the music (“It’s not a parade without a band,” my mother would always say), handmade floats of all kinds rolled before us, kids rode their decorated bikes, and my father made sure we were standing straight and tall, hands on hearts, when the flag passed by.
When the last of the parade moved out of sight and sound, the fun was not over. There was the 4-H Fair, with all sorts of booths and food. The only two I remember are the one where you slung a fishing pole over a hung-up sheet, and reeled it back in when someone attached a small brown bag of goodies to it with a clothespin, and the cotton candy, which visually promised more than it delivered. I can’t remember any other delicacy which brought such annual disappointment.
And then . . . the city fireworks! Late at night, when at last our southeastern Alaskan skies had darkened sufficiently, a spectacular show! I marveled at the beauty, while bracing for the ka-booms. But as explosion after explosion shook the skies, I always knew what would happen the next day, and why.
I knew it would rain. I didn’t know the word “meteorologist,” but I could trace cause and effect. If you shook the heavens that hard, of course you would bring on the rain.
I don’t remember the word “fireworks” being mentioned in the Bible, but some spectacular sky sights are recorded (especially in the Old Testament) and predicted (especially in Revelation).
The shook-up skies of my childhood 4th of Julys remind me of the Biblical descriptions of the heavens being shaken, and I relish each account. Here’s one of my favorites:
The introduction attributes this to David, when he “spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” And what a dramatic deliverance he describes!
In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
He soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him —
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
(Psalm 18:1-19 NKJV)
I, too, am delighted! David cried out to God for help, and God heard and most emphatically and immediately answered! David’s call, God’s response – how satisfying! And how we would like the same experience, every time we call out our distress to God!
It’s the waiting that’s hard, or the seeming silence from God’s throne room. We want God to answer now, to “soar on the wings of the wind” to rescue us! In those times we encourage ourselves to hold on, as we remember how God has heard and answered in the past.
I’m thinking that the next time I call out to God (which may be tomorrow!), I’m going to write it down as my psalm to Him, and also write out my description of His response, no matter when or how it happens. There may not be thunderbolts and shaken heavens involved, but I will write it as I see it!
As we step out into this brand-new week, perhaps needing to catch up on sleep due to the Fourth’s fireworks, we slip our hands into the nail-scarred hands of the One who loves us, listens to us, and takes action in answer to our call.
P.S. The photo above is my close-up of a most beautiful floral arrangement by the talented Denise Childs, prepared for our worship service this morning. For a more complete view, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPXsKvLCAhA&t=4710s