Worms on the Road

Would you like to go on a walk with me this morning? Everything is misty and wet from last night’s rain. Watch your step, there is a worm on the driveway. “Here’s another one!” you say. Sure enough, everywhere we look there are purple-pink worms stretched out on the wet pavement. Are they dead? No, as we watch we can see their pointy heads wiggle as they creep slowly along.

“Why are worms crawling on the road?” you ask. Good question. Worms belong in the ground, don’t they? But the rain has filled all their tunnels with water and so they have come up to breathe. “I didn’t know worms had to breathe,” you say. “Oh, look at this worm. It got smashed.” Poor thing. The road isn’t a safe place, is it? Maybe we should rescue some of these worms and throw them back onto the lawn.

You carefully pick up one of the slimy creatures. “Does God care about worms?” you wonder. Well, He made them. And Jesus said that He notices even the little sparrows, so I think He knows about these worms, too. But He cares much more for children, like you! I think there is a good lesson to learn from these worms. “Like not to go in the road,” you suggest. “Else I could be smashed like that worm!” That’s true. But the worm didn’t know that the road was dangerous. It was trying to keep from drowning underground. God gave them the instinct to come up to the top when it rains.

“I wish worms could read signs,” you say. “Then I would tell them that the road is dangerous.” But maybe if they could read, they wouldn’t believe you. Look at this worm heading into the middle of the street. I’ll put my foot in the way and see if it will go back. “Look, it is crawling around your shoe!” Yes, it acts just like a person who thinks that they are smart and don’t need to be told what to do.

Did you ever think that God sees us like little worms, and He has put up warnings to keep us safe? In Proverbs 16:25 we read, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” We might try to be careful and keep away from trouble, but in the end we can get ourselves into worse danger. That’s why we need to trust God to protect us and show us how to live.