It has been an interesting few weeks at the parsonage as Hildy and a brazen opossum are not doing well co-existing here in downtown Colchester.  Neill let Hildy out for her final outing of the night one evening and came in with a look of surprise and an immediate, “Don’t freak out . . .” 

“Go on,” I said (faking a calm, cool exterior). 

“Okay, Hildy might have killed an opossum.” 

“Whaaat?!  Oh no!  Are you serious?  That poor opossum!” 

The opossum did manage to get out of the yard.  All seemed well.  Though alas, the opossum came back.  This time I was the one outside with Hildy only to discover this creature living up to its name (playing dead, flopped dramatically on its side, teeth bared) as Hildy was biting at the poor creature.  Once again it managed to escape after I managed to bring Hildy back into the house.  We are hopeful that said creature has (finally?) learned to stay out of our fenced in yard! 

All of this has led to nightly checks of the backyard with a flashlight before letting Hildy out.  Obviously it has been very hot this week.  Though when performing a nightly opossum check before letting Hildy out I was delighted to see lightning bugs (or fireflies if you prefer).  So many lightning bugs! 

I just love them; they are such a happy sign of summer.  I was actually amazed by just how many I saw and sure enough, lighting bugs love the heat and humidity.  These scorching days for us have probably been downright delightful for them.  The thing is, if it weren’t for the opossum incidents causing us to be much more alert in the evening, I’m not sure I would have noticed the beauty of the lightning bugs as readily.  I hope to never be too caught up in life’s troubles and worries to not notice the delightful little light shows we can experience on hot summer nights.  Little flickering reminders that that there is still beauty and light in our world.  And I guess I have that brazen opossum to thank for this week’s thought.

Love,
Pastor Lauren

Photo by Kevin Wang on Unsplash

Thursday Thoughts 6/26/25