The Parable of the Worm

Tuesday I found a few minutes to weed my front yard gardens. 

 If this year had a label it would probably say something like 'Weeds Running Rampant Due to Severe Neglect.'  

Seriously, I think somewhere when my daughter got engaged, I began the steps towards garden neglect.  It's gotten so bad that the side yard garden is taking on weeds never seen before in the history of its existence.  But on to the parable...

I pulled out tons of wild crab grass that had edged its way since its last weeding (ahem in May).  For some reason even without edging tools this garden easily yields to hand plowing. 

 As I dug, many large worms began emerging on the dark soils surface.  I am not sure why, but today they seemed to be particularly beautiful to me.  Now that may seem a strange statement, but I am a nature-loving-worm-holding-type of girl, always have been, so a few years into grown-up hasn't changed that.  However, never had I noticed how shiny and perfect each worm was.  They seemed to be extra reddish and like God glossed them especially for the occasion of this weed purging event.  

I held one in my hand, it wiggled and flipped and then did this, "I'm dead-really!" act for me.  I laid it back down out of the way, but thought of how it was unaware of who I was and that I wasn't looking for a snack, but just admiring it.   I thought of how blind this creature is and how it relies on things other than eyes to do its job of tilling the soil.  How it never looks at itself in the mirror to see just what it looks like to others. I felt a little sad for these worms.

Then I remember how hard it is to find such worms when one wants to go fishing.  How suddenly the yard always seems wormless, no matter where you put the shovel in search.  I remember my friend Keith telling me years ago that they were called "glass worms," the regular yard kind, as when you tried to put them on to the fish hook they would just break, instead of becoming the bait.

Then God's voice spoke to my heart.  He told me that we are much like this worm.  We are often unsure of who we are and who it is that formed us.  Even though we have the ability and the eyes to see into image holders, still we don't see what He sees in us.  We are blind to seeing ourselves and the beauty that He has bestowed into each of us.  

We flip and flop in life just like these regular old yard worms.  We play games with each other to try to hide or protect ourselves.  We have a tendency to go it alone, flipping and flopping in hopes that we will somehow manage through the moments.  Instead of trust, we choose to flip-flop around.  Instead of prayer or fellowship to pull us through hard or suddenly difficult times, instead we blindly fumble about forgetting who we are and whose we are.

He told me that we are often glass like, quickly broken instead of remaining steadfast in our life.  We become overwhelmed by the small things building up, or perhaps by not guarding our hearts as He has so lovingly told us.  We are not keepers or very great containers of His promises, we often are so forgetful of His love and His constant faithfulness.

God is into worms.  He made them with a purpose.  Without them the earth would not flourish, they are under the surface armies who work for Him.  We too are such soldiers, we each have a purpose in His Kingdom.  We are each made with a purpose that He desires for us to live out.  He has plans for us, plans that are good.  He wants us to realize who we are, whose we are and get to the living it out with boldness and confidence that could only come through Him.

Hope this encourages you my wormy friend. 

 When He sees you, you are beautiful to Him.  You are filled with all the beauty that His hand has formed you with.  He is calling you to the surface, into the Son-Light to let the world see who you are and to release the purposes He has given you.

Will you take the mission-will you allow Him to let you see yourself through His mirror?  Will you allow the Holy Spirit to encourage your heart through the plans and purposes He has for you? Won't you yield your weeds to His hand-plowing?  He is inviting you to come!

I am praying for us today. 

 Be blessed my beautiful wormy friends!