Today’s scripture: Psalm 8 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Brent Walsh):
Worms get a bad rap, don’t you think? Flocks of school girls are sent screaming across the playground while a boy chases after them with a hapless worm wriggling between his muddy fingers. In adulthood people usually see worms as no more than fishing bait or compost workers. On occasion you’ll find that someone holds these creatures in a bit higher esteem by building an earthworm farm with clear plexiglass sides that allow underground worm watching, but those folks are usually labeled nerds by people who see nothing fascinating or glorious about a worm or its habitat.
With all the indifferent or negative feelings people have about worms, you might wonder what they could possibly have to do with Psalm 8, a passage that extols the majesty of God’s creation. Before you dismiss them as too lowly for this song of praise, however, consider some interesting facts about earthworms:
• Worms have no fewer than 5 hearts!
• Earthworms contain both male and female reproductive organs.
• Earthworms don’t have lungs. The slimy surface of the worm actually allows the little creature to breathe, as long as the skin is moist. If a worm dries out, it will slowly choke to death. On the other hand, if a worm is trapped in its burrow during heavy rain, the oxygen supply in the water will be quickly exhausted. This is one reason why worms crawl to the surface after a downpour. If they don’t evacuate, they will suffocate.
• There are thousands of different kinds of earthworms worldwide.
• Baby worms hatch from cocoons smaller than a grain of rice.
• Worms can eat their weight each day.
• In favorable conditions, worms breed every seven to ten days and can double their population in 90 days.
• Worms don’t have eyes, but are sensitive to light.
• The Earthworm’s body bristles with sense organs numbering as many as 1,900 on just one segment. These receptors give the worm a sense of touch, the capacity to taste, and the ability to detect light.
• As worms squirm through the earth’s surface, they act like miniature plowmen. Munching their way through manure, soil, and decaying vegetation, they produce a waste product called worm castings, a product they manufacture in enormous quantities.
• The worm grips the soil with the aid of small, hair-like projections called setae. Each segment of the worm has sets of setae that act somewhat like the oars of a rowboat. The worm plunges them into the soil, pulls itself along, and then retracts them. The worm can “paddle” in either direction using one set of setae at a time or, if startled, can anchor one end of its body while rapidly retracting the other end.
• (Info taken from http://worms.a1sites.com/worm_facts.html)
Even with all these fascinating facts, you might find better things to do with an evening than sit around and watch earth worms. If you decide to give it a try, though, you might find your experience similar to my friend Lisa’s. She recently wrote on Facebook:
“About 10 tonight, I sat on the front steps petting a cat weaving in and out between my legs. I had just returned home from class, and the nearly inaudible percussion of light rain hitting fallen leaves invited my presence. In a hiccup’s distance from my feet, I thought I saw a dandelion frond straighten. The weed was one of many growing in the crack of the sidewalk leading up to the porch. Every two minutes or so, evidence of life in the sidewalk crack emerged, forming a slow motion picture of the night life of worms. Now that I was paying attention, I recognized what I had previously labeled twigs actually moving in and out of sight, manifesting as a rising leaf here or frond straightening there. A couple unhurriedly stretched themselves before serenely curling back to the sidewalk crack that encompassed their small universe. Were they having fun in this hair-soft rain? Were they socializing? How lovely watching creatures who couldn’t care less about human awareness. They just seemed to pleasure in their wormy little lives, and by extension, helped me to pleasure a bit more in mine.”
The Psalmist wrote, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Sure, there are a lot of things that strike more awe in the heart of a praising saint, but consider that nothing can be quite as majestic “IN all the earth” as the amazing…dare I say majestic…earth worm.
Thought for the day: God, help us to cast our gaze downward on occasion to find your majesty even in the things we consider lowly.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.