Just Outside Your Door:  Earthworms

Well, it's a beautiful, spring Sunday afternoon.  I spent the morning just sitting by the frog pond wondering what on earth God is doing in my life.  Nothing makes sense to me right now.  I was waiting, watching, listening, hoping .....when I noticed an earthworm by my feet. 

Where did he come from?  He hadn't been there the minute before.

And then there were two!  I wondered if they'd meet.  If they'd be drawn to each other by some primal force.  If they were what would they do?  I sat and watched, and anticipated, and didn't dare to hope and then when they finally did meet ..... nothing!  Seriously, just two worms wiggling around.  They didn't even sort of tangle themselves up together, which I was pretty sure would happen.

Earthworms.  Really?  My grand Job 12:7-8 look and listen and learn from the earth moment is earthworms!?!?!  

It's ironic really, considering the animosity, I once held toward these critters.  It's taken me years to get past it and to actually enjoy finding them, to the point where sometimes I obsessively "hunt" them to put them into my gardens.  

So what was the lesson?  Some radom googling - what did we do before Google - turned up the following about the symbolism of earthworms presenting themselves to you.  It seems that it is time for me to work over all I've been experiencing lately, to digest what has occurred in my life, to cast off those things not beneficial or necessary.  It's time to clean house emotionally and allow for new growth.  The earth worm is also a reminder that small efforts can have big impacts.  They are also symbolic of self-healing, probably due to the fact that when they are severed below the 37th segment/clitellum they continue to live - or at least 1/2 of them does.  There was a lot more, but I won't bore you with ALL the lessons the earthworm can have for us.

Additionally, there are some great science lessons here, for the more curious of minds...decomposition, hermaphroditic procreation, soil aeration ... the list just goes on and on.  You can build a wormery, start your own compost, or just sit and watch them wiggle.  

And all I did was step, just outside my door.  There are so many lessons waiting for us.