I run in the mornings. The sun is at its cleanest, softest light. The air is not yet overly filled with fumes from cars and factories. There is a nice chill to the air that helps to numb my joints out a bit to keep me going. I love morning runs. As I run over the dew soaked sidewalks I scan for signs of life, movement. I am keeping an eye out for something very specific, worms. I just have a soft spot for the little guys. there they are on the rough cement fighting to get across. They lose all their protective slime coat as they search for the other side of the seemingly endless rock hard ground. They are at their most vulnerable to birds. They need help. So no matter what "time" I am trying to beat on my mile or if anyone sees I always stop, pick them up and drop them on the other side in the soft grass. Sometimes picking them up is a challenge in itself. they can be slimy and as soon as they feel me touch them they recoil and writhe all around. I have learned over time to touch them and then let them wiggle until they get them self into a position that i can get a grip on them.
After picking up a particularly fat worm this morning it hit me that this is how life as a Christian is.
Some times we are the worm. We are lost or feeling discouraged and need help. A brother or sister that sees us struggle needs to stop, touch us with a word from the Lord and then wait til we are ready to be helped.
As Christians we should always be "the runner". Asking God to show us those that are in need of help and then "scanning the sidewalks" for the "worms" he puts in our path.that is the very purpose of being a part of the church. To help each other in our times of "wormlyness".
Some worms my fight help and that is ok. we are not called to heal everyone, just to love them and sometimes the most loving thing is to just let them know "I see you. I am here when you need me".
As Christians we should always be the worm too. But she just said we should always be the runner.Are you loco? Nope, not crazy, but when I say be the worm this time I mean that the worms i pass are so helpless. They may or may not ever get to the other side on there own but it would be a lot better trip with help form a "runner" or better yet the "creator of the runner". It is told to us by Jesus to be humble like he was. well you can't get much more humble then a worm stuck on a hot, dry sidewalk. It is OK to need help. It is OK to need a brother or sister you can trust to confess to. Someone God can use to help you in your dry times. Today ask God to help you first be the best worm you can be, humble and in need of a savior and then ask him to send you a runner, someone to help you do life with. Someone that will speak life to you in your darkest times. Then ask him to make you a runner for someone else. Life is short. Don't fight the sidewalk on your own.
