Sometimes it Takes a Worm

This week I was taking my daily walk, when I came across a worm laying on the sidewalk. As I walked past it, I thought, "If my kids were here they would rescue the worm from the risk of drying up on the sidewalk (some thing that a PBS show taught them to do)."  As I kept on walking, I thought, "I guess I could stop and do the same."  So, feeling some what foolish, I retraced about ten steps back to the worm, picked it up and released it in the grass.  I then turned around and right then, there was this huge, magnificently colored yellow and black butterfly. I would have missed the butterfly if not for that worm.  I don't know about you, but that seems to apply to my life:   Sometimes you have to stop and pick up a worm to see a butterfly. 

It seems like there are a lot of worms in this life.  Some of them are people, some of them are negative circumstances, some of them are worries that never happen, some of them come from my own poor choices...Yes, worms are drying on the side walk all the time.  The temptation is to try to ignore them.  I have actually heard people said, "May be it will all just work out on its own?"   (Sure it will...and then may be Tinker Bell will just happen to bring you some pixie dust so you can fly, too).  But for those of us who have tried denial and found it to be an unfaithful friend, we have learned to turn around, face the worm and become hands on with it. It is never fun.  Often times it is awkward and some times down right painful, but my experience has been it is always easier to deal with the worm than to step over it and then try to scrape it off the sidewalk later. 

OK..so may be I have run this analogy into the ground :-) , but I do believe that is what The Father is trying to get us to see in Hebrews 12:1-13.  I hope you will take a moment to give it a read.  It helps us be honest about our need to deal with the worms, but then it is incredibly full of promise for those who are willing.  Verse 11 puts it this way, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."  There it is...see it...a remarkable butterfly.

Why not turn around and deal with the worm on your sidewalk head on.  You may be surprised by what follows than just all the things you are afraid will happen...dealing with that worm may just let you see a butterfly.