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Do it Yourself Fireworks

I've lived in NY my entire life. Aside from sparklers, NY law has never allowed private parties to use fireworks for any occasion. Therefore, 4th of July and other celebrations that employ the use of firework displays are done in public parks or in downtown Albany under strict regulations and laws.

Now living in Kentucky, I can't drive two feet from house without seeing roadside displays of fireworks for sale. Apparently I've been told that this is the first year Kentucky has allowed the really big fireworks for private use.

Driving home the other night I saw a few fireworks weakly being set off above a quiant neighborhood off the main road. A few actually exploded into what resembled mini fireworks, but most shot up and quickly diminished into the slowly fading evening. In the process of deciding whether to get together with friends for a do it yourself fireworks show or go see some done by professionals, I thought about what I had witnessed on my drive. Sure, it would be fun to shoot off fireworks yourself, but the end result isn't all that impressive. Plus, I've seen professionally done firework shows where the fireworks were shot a little too low to the tree line, sending a line of fire across the horizan. I can't imagine a private show by amateurs would much safer. Consequently, I imagine that many individuals will be flocking to purchase big fireworks seeing as it's the first year they're able to, so I assume there may be less of a crowd downtown watching the professional show. In the end, I concluded the professionals would give a more impressive and safer performance.

This whole ordeal got me thinking. How often do we live our lives like individuals putting on a private, amateur firework show? Sure, we get to do things ourselves, but we're missing out on the majesty and safety of letting the professionals do it for us. In life, how often do we tell God, "Sure, you can do this better and you'll make sure I'm okay, but I wanna do this myself!" In the end, we end up disappointed and usually in a lot of trouble. In my own life, I've been taught this lesson (not quite sure I've really learned it yet!) many times over. I try to control situations and do it myself and everything falls apart. After I've tried and tried to set off fireworks and create some magnificent scene, I have to admit I'm just not capable. I need to let God, the expert, create a beautiful firework display in my life.

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