For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
II Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
Jodie Lopez, a new arrival from the Philippines, suffered from a terrible fear of earthworms. As she tells the story of her fear, it began as a child when she witnessed a childhood friend die having been consumed by tapeworms. She could not bear the spoken word “WORMS”. A picture of a worm was horror. Jodie always loved the beauty of flower gardens since coming to the United States and wanted one for her home. When she saw earthworms following a heavy rain storm, all desires to have a garden diminished immediately.
As her children came along, she lived in misery when they become consumed with worms. the children were enthusiastic for all things living. Toads, frogs, beetles, butterflies and, yes, works were found in envelops, bottles and plastic bags. When Jodie’s five year old son brought a worm to her presence in a custard cup, she managed not to scream stopped only by her child’s happiness and eagerness for this squirmy life form.
Her son’s enthusiasm led to his interest in earthworms. In his free time, he researched earthworms on the website. While shopping for kindergarten level readings, Jodie’s son purchased literature about worms. As Jodie and her son looked at a picture book and readings, she and he learned that most species of worms were not parasites. In fact, worms were instrumental in allowing water and air to seep down to lower depths of soil as well as provide nutrients to the soil. In so doing, soil became enriched and greater crops so that everyone would benefit from the grain products as result of their activity.
Jodie learned to appreciate what she had once feared. She learned that such fears were false. She felt that if one has such unreasonable fears he or she can overcome them. It is a slow process that requires a person be open to learn about what it is they fear then take the necessary steps to deal with them. When she dealt with her fear, she discovered another beautiful aspect of God’s world.
Prayer: Almighty God, You in Your wisdom has created every life. Help us to learn,
understand and honor life forms even though we do not understand why that life
form exists among us.
