Earthworms

So I like to go across the way to this little place, never sure whether to call it an athletic trail or a park.... I think it's known as both.... but anyway, I like to go there in the evenings/at night to walk or just sit. It has such a peaceful atmosphere at night. Almost no one ever goes there at night. There were a couple evenings, before it was too late, that I saw some people jogging around the park, but not in it. There were two other evenings that a few people came to walk the labyrinth, but for the most part I'm the only one who occupies it at night. I will have to take pictures and put them up sometime.

Tonight, I actually didn't walk the labyrinth, or the paths, or the circumference of the park, like I usually do. I didn't even sit on the edge of the slight decline into the field hockey field. I actually just sat on one of the many rocks lining the paths. I spent an hour and a half just sitting there. After a few minutes of sitting, I started to sense motions in the grass in front of me. At first I thought it was just a very slight breeze, more noticeable because the grass was wet and glistening from the light rain earlier in the day. Then when I looked closer, I saw that what was actually causing the disturbance in the grass was the stirring of several earthworms, starting to poke their way out of the dirt. We had thunderstorms last night, a few few light showers today, and we're supposed to get some pretty big storms tonight.

As I sat watching the worms wiggle their way out of the dirt, I started to think about the strange concept of instinct in animals. In all the times I have been in that park I have never seen worms coming out like that, but this time was different, because this was after one rain and right before an even bigger rain. These simple insects somehow knew that rain was on its way, and they were making their way to the surface so they wouldn't suffocate in the too-saturated soil. As cool as it was to think about that, a touch of sad irony came with that. Whenever there's a big rain the sidewalks on campus are covered with worms of all sizes and it's pretty gross. The picture is quite different after the rains abate. As the sidewalks dry, the majority of the worms are stranded and begin to dry out, but by the next morning there are very few remains left. I assume the birds had a lovely little buffet in the morning. Here the worms are preparing to escape one threat on their lives, only to lose to another threat.

I personally think worms are really gross, and hate it when they get all over the sidewalks and spoil my enjoyment of the rain. (I would totally continue to walk barefoot in the rain too, if it weren't for the fact that I really really do not want to be walking on slimy worms with my bare feet.) Though I am not fond of the creatures, I did begin to feel a sympathy towards them, and even felt sorry for them and their fate. Their simple existence is limited to fertilizing the soil and providing sustenance for the birds. It almost seemed unfair to me that the worms would escape the suffocation of the wet soil only to be eaten by the birds. But then I looked at it the other way, and thought about how it benefited the birds. These thoughts on how the food chain works led to thoughts on God's design in creation. From that point, due in part to the conducive atmosphere of the park, my thoughts turned to God's design in life. The fact is that there is a Designer and a design, but it can be so hard to see both at times.

Right now I kindof feel like one of those worms. I am slowly crawling out of the safety of my habitat in anticipation of the storm that is to come. I am shivering as I lay cold, exposed, and alone, hoping that I survive the threat of a predator snatching me up.