Mourning Memories Never Made & Seeing God’s Grace in It

_{July 4, 2022}

This Independence Day weekend (in the USA), we celebrated the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. On that date, our founding fathers declared their independence from Britain and set about creating a nation that protects the freedoms granted to all humanity by their “Creator.”

While some of those men were not Christian, most of them believed in a God who was sovereign over all creation, including this new nation they sought to build.

Just under 250 years later, we are still a nation of great freedom, but that distinction is rapidly dissolving as God’s judgment is poured out on the United States for its wickedness and rebellion against Him.

And yet, in the midst of all the turmoil we are witnessing around us, our God is faithful and just, rich in mercy, and still enjoys bestowing His people with countless blessings.

My family experienced many of those great blessings this weekend.

An Unprecedented Attendance

On July 2, my wife and I hosted our annual celebration of Independence Day by inviting friends and family to our home for an evening of games, fellowship, and food, all culminating in the largest fireworks display we’ve ever done.

This year was to be our last big hurrah for a couple of years, as we anticipated financial and civil difficulties in the years to come. With that in mind, we decided to go all out, sparing no expense. The final list of those invited numbered around 60, more than double the count of how many have been able to attend in past years.

As the date of the party drew closer, we were amazed to see that nearly everyone invited had committed to come, including several we never expected to be able to make it.

It was very odd to us, in a great way, that the Lord was opening the doors for so many to come. One of the primary goals for the party was to share the Gospel with everyone in attendance, both as a reminder of God’s grace for those who had already experienced it, and as a calling to those who have not yet repented of their sins. The fact that so many additional friends and family were coming was a surprising outpouring of God’s kindness and blessing.

The Planning Begins

The party itself took months to plan, with myself ordering the first batch of fireworks in February. For the next few months, we received dozens of Amazon deliveries, made and remade countless lists, maps, and charts.

The Lord has blessed my wife with an almost supernatural gift for organization and thoughtfulness. During her planning of activities, she considered every single person who was planning on attending, even ordering specific snacks or planning on games with a particular child in mind.

Planning the Show

The fireworks display was where I focused my own attention, since I have a passion for things that go boom. As mentioned, I began planning the actual display back in February. I researched available fireworks and downloaded video clips of others shooting them off so I knew exactly what to expect.

My wife and I chose some wonderful music to which the fireworks would be set and began laying out the exact order and timing for each firework. Over the months, I edited those video clips together, visualizing the exact show we intended to put on, all synced to the songs we had chosen. You can watch this pre-visualization video here, if you are interested in what might have been.

We felt we had chosen some truly beautiful and unique effects for the show and were greatly looking forward to “oohs” and “ahhs” of the crowd, especially hoping to wow the children.

The task of timing the show properly was a daunting one for me. Since I had endeavored to sync the fireworks to music for the first time, I needed to calculate how much fuse was needed between each piece to make sure they all fired on cue, or as close as possible.

Different fuses burn at different speeds so there were several spreadsheets and diagrams created to make sure I had the right length of fuse and that the fuses would all reach their intended targets.

Setup and Safety

For several hours on the big day, a couple of helpers and myself set about placing the fireworks in the yard, grouped together according to the song they were meant to accompany.

Safety was a big priority for us, so we took many steps to ensure the show was as safe and error-proof as possible:

• Since the mortar racks are reusable, I take the extra step of cleaning them out each year, making sure there are no obstructions or debris that could cause issues.
• For the week prior, the grass under and around the firework area had been watered frequently to prevent fires.
• We glued cakes to wooden boards or duct-taped them together so as to prevent any from falling over (and thus firing in any direction other than up).
• All of the fireworks were covered with tin foil and the fusing with masking tape to prevent any sparks from accidentally igniting them too early.
• Many people secure their fuses together using zip-ties, but I prefer tape because zip-ties may fall into the mortar tubes and obstruct the shells being fired; it is just safer with tape in my eyes.
• We then secured all of the fuses to either the boards or the fireworks themselves (preventing them from moving around as they burned, potentially lighting other fireworks off prematurely or starting a fire).
• Fireworks that shoot out at an angle were not placed next to taller fireworks (so the angled shots would not ricochet off adjacent boxes).
• The sequence of the fireworks were double-checked many times to ensure everything was connected properly.

The lighting of the fireworks themselves would be done remotely with electric ignition; nobody would need to be anywhere near the fireworks during the show. We took every precaution we could think of to ensure a safe display of these beautiful controlled explosions.

A Decent Start

When it came time to start the show, it began with only a minor hiccup. My nephew had won the honor of pushing the first button on the remote to start the show. His firework burst from its tube and exploded high above the yard, exactly as intended.

That was supposed to be followed by a very small fountain that did not actually end up lighting because the blast from the first firework had disconnected the fountain’s fuse. While that was a minor glitch, it was nothing to worry about.

The next song (MacGyver’s intro theme music) went fairly well too; there was just a little more delay between the fireworks than I had intended. That is just the nature of fireworks, though: they are not always consistent in their timing since they’re all assembled by hand, and my own measurement skills certainly have room for improvement.

Something Isn’t Right

The third song in the show (America) is where things turned ugly. For this song, instead of pushing just one button to fire the entire song, I had it rigged up to require a different button press for each firework (I was watching a clock to get the timing right). Button #5 on the remote was used to start the first firework box (known as a “cake”); no problem.

When the time came to push button #6, I did so. Within seconds, I knew something was very wrong. While the firework I had intended to light did indeed go off, I also noticed the first two cakes in the finale were firing as well! At that point, I stood to my feet, upset and disappointed, but not at all worried.

I figured that after the finale had run its course, I would simply announce the misfire and continue with the other 3 songs. That was not to be, however.

As the finale reached its own conclusion, something went horribly wrong and fireworks began exploding on the ground, starting several small fires.

At that point, I immediately shut down the remote firing system and headed down to the fires, closely behind my sister who was already on her way as well.

Once the fireworks stopped firing, several of those in attendance were able to put out the fires and I quickly doused the remaining fireworks with water, rendering them all useless and unable to fire if an errant spark happened to reach them.

The show for which we had planned and worked so long had come to a premature and disappointing end. It was heartbreaking for both my wife and myself. The show we had hoped to provide for our guests would never be seen.

We were sad and confused, but most of all grateful to God that no one was injured and the only property lost was going to be burned up anyway.

It wasn’t until the next day that the chain of events became clearer and yet, so much more confusing.

What Actually Went Wrong?

As I began investigating the scene of the mishap the next day, I found that several things happened that should not have been possible, and other things that should have happened, but miraculously did not.

There was not a single point of failure that caused the show to go haywire, but a perfect cocktail of multiple oddities had taken place.

• Finale started too soon [“Impossible” event #1]
  As mentioned above, the finale should not have started when I pressed button #6 on the remote firing board. The electric wire used to create the spark needed to ignite the finale was rigged to button #12, not #6.
  
  Upon inspecting the wire that was hooked up to the #12 spot, there was evidence that it had indeed been triggered somehow; it did spark, setting off the finale. This trigger did not come from me, as even accidentally brushing the #12 button on the remote is not enough to trigger it.
  
• Firework cakes malfunctioned
  At least one of the first two cakes in the finale fired incorrectly, seemingly exploding within the tubes they were meant to be launched out of. This caused damage to the exterior structure of the box, allowing the tubes to be blown outside of the firework and onto the ground next to it:
  
  
  
  This is not what a spent firework should look like! This is not unheard of, though, as anything created by man has the potential to fail. It is generally incredibly rare, but looking around the rest of the show’s fireworks, we noticed a few others had suffered similar fates:
  
  
  
  Again, there should generally be zero damage to the outsides of the cakes other than some burn marks from the fuses.
  
  The decision not to continue the show after the finale turned out to be the right call as well, since even some of the fireworks that hadn’t been fired yet were damaged in the melee. Continuing to light these off could have created even more dangerous misfires:
  
  
  
• The finale progressed too quickly
  The finale was supposed to last a little over a minute and a half, but in reality it was over in about half that time. Due to the failure of the first couple of cakes, it is possible that a secondary fuse was lit prematurely, which in turn started the second half of the finale before it was meant to.
  
  Again, this on its own would not have been the end of the world; if nothing else went wrong, the finale would just be a little more chaotic than intended and been over quickly.
  
• The last rack of fireworks exploded [“Impossible” event #2]
  The largest fireworks are launched from fiberglass or PVC tubes (mortars) that are held in place by wooden racks. Since the tubes are not sealed on the top, the entire force of the “lift charge” are directed up through the top (this first explosion is what lifts the firework shell into the sky). Very little, if any, damage is ever done to the tubes or the racks holding them.
  
  Our mortar rack, however, as you can see in the photo below, was completely blown apart. The other side of the rack is actually laying about 20 feet away in the field. This should not happen, even in the rare case of a firework failing to launch out of the tube (again, the majority of the explosion would be directed out the top of the tube).
  
  It is possible that a defective shell had just enough lift charge to clear the tube, but not enough to get airborne; if that happened, the shell may have fallen back onto the rack and exploded there, which may account for the black charring on the side of the failed rack.
  
  Another potential cause could be in how the rack was fused up. Taking my cue from standard practices of others, including a video published by the manufacturer of this specific rack, I had laid the fusing over the tops of the tubes in two of the racks used. It is feasible that a shell was unable to blast through the tape I wrapped around the fusing and prevented it from getting airborne. Unfortunately, there is no way to prove this did or did not happen.
  
  
  
  Regardless of how the rack exploded, with it no longer holding the tubes in place, the remaining shells were being launched in random directions, some even throwing the tubes quite some distance away (7 of the 30 tubes are still unaccounted for and are likely somewhere in the field).
  
  

What Satan Meant for Evil …

There is so much about this event to take in. Obviously, my wife and I were incredibly disappointed and saddened to see all of our time, effort, and planning pay off in the way that it did. More confusing, however, is the fact that we just do not understand how so many things went wrong.

I have no explanation whatsoever for how the finale started when it did. Button #12 was never pressed. The firing system was tested both before and after the show and it performed perfectly: button #6 only activated the corresponding firing wire and the same was true of #12.

I have no concrete explanation for why the last mortar rack failed.

Perhaps the devil and his angels were angered by the name of Jesus Christ being proclaimed prior to the show and had endeavored to cause harm? Maybe it was just an attempt of his to rob us all of the joy we were hoping to experience during the show?

We have even gone so far as to picture Satan’s sniveling agents taking a hammer to the rack in order to destroy it.

That may sound silly or superstitious, and perhaps it is. But we also recognize that there are indeed spiritual forces at work in the world:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12

However, the book of Job also makes it clear that even Satan needs to ask God for permission for everything he does: he is but a dog on a leash held by the Lord!

… God Meant for Good.

So ultimately, we recognize that everything that happened was ordained by God Himself. And God is orchestrating all things. He is the one who directed every wayward spark and explosion.

And that is where things get even more incredible and awesome. Looking back on this disastrous end to the show, we see God’s hand in many ways:

• No one was injured!
  Given the fact that those tubes were thrown around the yard randomly, it is a miracle that shells were being launched in every direction except toward where we were sitting! There is no “logical” reason to think they wouldn’t have also been sent that way. But no, even reviewing the limited video evidence we have, absolutely nothing came close to the crowd!
  
  Not a single person reported being hit by embers, ashes, or other debris. Not even those who were fighting the fires got burned or singed.
  
  Also, I’m certain of God’s divine protection of my sister and I as we ran down to start putting out fires. It wasn’t until after all was said and done that I even knew that fireworks were still exploding around us while we were right next to them!
  
  Neither of us were hit and I was not even aware of anything else going off; I thought everything had finished before I got down there. God not only protected us from the fireworks, but also kept the fear of them out of our minds. Just amazing!
  
• The other failures don’t appear to have caused any damage.
  
• The fires did not spread.
  The first fire I noticed was a small one directly behind the fireworks setup. It was surrounded by dead and dry brush, but the fire never spread beyond a couple foot radius.
  
  The larger fire, which was only started because a large firework exploded directly on the ground in the field, also did not spread beyond it’s initial ignition point. And it was a large ignition point:
  
  
  
  We are so grateful that God provided so many people who were able to help tackle the fires by filling buckets, spraying hoses, and even having the presence of mind to grab the closest water containers they could find (even Tupperware) to help! Amazing action by everyone, glory to God.

Take-Aways

We are still processing the loss of some memories of what might have been a great fireworks display. But looking back, that is really all that is lost. We still got to see some amazing fireworks at the beginning, and it seems pretty clear to us that God intervened supernaturally to keep everyone protected during the show.

It is almost like He gave the devil permission to destroy the show, but the Lord and His angels protected our families, friends, house, and other property. This whole thing could have, and should have been much worse than it was!

Then there was the event of the following day that the Lord has also used to put this all into perspective for us. The house directly across the street from us caught fire and was completely destroyed. In the matter of just minutes, that family lost everything they owned, all their memories, clothing, etc., just gone. Thankfully, no one was injured.

Please pray for the Case family, by the way.

And here we are mourning the loss of some time and fireworks that would have been destroyed intentionally anyway if things had gone to plan.

We still got to sleep in our own beds that night, our home was still standing when we awoke the next day, and life will continue for us much the same as it had previously.

Lessons Learned

Overall, we’ve been able to determine that even if we were to replicate the exact show we had planned, there is nothing we would do differently in terms of setting it up, the fusing, safety considerations, etc. So there is nothing we can think of that we could have done to prevent what happened.

But we do know that the Lord will use every event for the good of those who love Him and for His own glory. This event is no different.

For us personally, there are many things He may be trying to teach us or some way He is growing us to be more like Christ.

Perhaps we were not good stewards of the financial blessings He has provided us? Maybe we devoted too much of our time in the planning stages, neglecting Him and each other in the process? Maybe I had too much pride in myself for the show that was designed and I was seeking the praise of others? Perhaps a little bit of everything. We do not know for sure yet, but the Holy Spirit will reveal the lessons to be learned in His timing.

At the end of the day, we are striving to simply trust in the Lord. To trust that, while the show isn’t what we planned, it happened exactly as the Lord had planned. And there is great comfort in knowing that the Creator of the Universe is still in absolute control of our little corner of the world as well!

And on top of all of that, He provided us with an incredible evening of memories made with family and friends. The weather was perfect, the kids all seemed to have a blast, and everything up until the end was just … perfect.

That is all because our heavenly Father saw fit to give those blessings to us. And we love Him all the more for it. Thank you, Jesus!