Thursday, September 12, 2013

God's Glory in Earthworms


It’s that awful time of year again.
When the coffee comes out, the books get spread all over the house and sleep becomes an optional extra - if there’s time after cramming hundreds of pages of “Cardiology.”

Yip. It’s finals time.

Regardless of what September holds for you, I think this time of year is tough on everyone.
Some people are working hard leading up to exams (whilst us un-conforming vet students are writing them) and the majority of others are bogged down with work leading to year ends.
It’s in this space that we tend to forget about the more important things in life… like earthworms. J

Yes… earthworms.

I don’t spend a lot of time outside anymore (unless you consider the practicals involving chasing down cows) and I certainly haven’t picked up a spade and got my hands dirty with gardening in many, many years. But I am blessed to live in a home that has a beautiful, multi-floral garden that’s lovingly tended to by my mother.
A garden which, if I’m honest, I take far too little time to appreciate.

But, as I’m sure you may know, procrastination often leads you into long forsaken places.

So today, in one of my not so productive moments, I decided to forsake the books and take upon wandering around the house in search of food and company.
These ventures lead me outside into the fresh spring air, where I discovered my mother digging up the soil and gardening in anticipation of summer.

As I watched her, I noticed the soil moving, alive with many little earthworms, hard at work.

If you consider the biology of earthworms, it may be a little crude to consider that their entire purpose is to eat rubbish and, well, recycle the nutrients back into the soil. They effectively poop back what the plants and insects that habituate the ground so desperately need.
They work tirelessly, unseen, all the while adding to the beautiful, magnificent creation that shines the glory of our magnificent God.
An ecosystem is dependent on these (and other similar) creatures, and everything from food, wildlife and pretty gardens are somehow linked back to a little worm that seems, well, insignificant.
The last time I considered an earthworm, was probably ten years ago, but since then, these little guys have been continuously hard at work, making my garden beautiful, whilst I was too oblivious and busy to notice.
It’s amazing and mind boggling to consider how perfectly God created our planet, and how stupidly I’ve chosen to ignore it in the midst of my stress and trials.

So here’s to remind you of a few things.

1)     Whatever you’re currently facing, God hasn’t stopped working around you to make things beautiful.
2)    Take some time to appreciate the blessings you have. One minute, to consider an earthworm, has served to remind me of my ultimate purpose to glorify God that goes way beyond writing exams or work. And that’s a pretty de-stressing thought.
3)    No job or situation, no matter how sh%*tty, is ever too insignificant to be used to glorify God. Just ask the earthworm, whose only purpose is to “poop for God”. J

God’s beauty and your purpose are far bigger than the studying, job and trials that you may face. You just need to take the time to notice.
Hope this made you smile!

 (Image source, with thanks: 
http://www.biodiversitygardening.com/earthworms.html)