She handed
me a woodchip. I looked down at my 2 year old student and took the woodchip
from her, slightly confused. She plopped her adorable, chunky self down on the
ground, pointed at a spot in the dirt, looked up at me and said, “Worm?” I
chuckled. The day before we had found a worm, and apparently 20 minutes of
taking turns holding said worm wasn’t enough time at all. I shrugged and went
to digging. I knew the chances were slim, but I went ahead anyway. I told her,
“The worm might be on vacation so we’ll dig for a little while but if he’s not
home we’re going to stop ok?” She nodded. We dug for 5-10 minutes. Nothing. I
told her, “Sorry, Mr.Worm went on vacation.” I put the dirt back in the hole
and went to another part of the playground. 5 minutes later there was a little
tap on my thigh. I looked down. There she was again…holding a woodchip.
“Worm.”
This went on throughout the ENTIRE SUMMER.
Relentlessly
this child would ask me to find her a worm. I mean, I know that kids like bugs,
but SERIOUSLY? After digging for 5-10 minutes, every time, we wouldn’t find a
worm. And the cycle would begin again moments later.
I kept digging for two reasons.
One….because…I mean, not digging for a worm at a two year old’s request seems
like a mean thing to do. Secondly…I couldn’t help but notice the faith she had.
And it was fascinating to me. She never once thought that maybe the worm
wouldn’t show up again. I was in a really rough patch in my spiritual life and
it was encouraging to see a picture of faith in this little girl. It made me think
of my own faith, which at the time felt so weak.
Then we came to my last day at work.
As we dug for a worm, I silently prayed, “Hey. Jesus. I think it would be
really cool if you could help us find a worm.” I chuckled to myself and half
joking, half serious silently said, “In the name of Jesus, we will find a
worm.”
We didn’t find a worm right then.
But I walked to another area of the playground. I had been with a different
class the other day and we had actually seen a worm there. So, maybe there
would be one there. I moved around some dirt. Didn’t do any digging. Just moved
some dirt around. And low and behold….there was a worm.
God rewards faith that He’ll provide
and earthworm, just like He rewards faith in anything else. I know it sounds cliché,
and I don’t know, maybe it is. But it was a nice little reminder that He
really, really, REALLY does hear us. He really does recognize any amount of
faith we have. He really is overjoyed by our faith.
Oh, one last thing that I learned
from that little girl.
When she received what she
faithfully believed she would find…
She wouldn’t let go.
