A young boy kept a pet worm in an ant farm cage in his bedroom. An ant farm is filled with dirt with glass on both sides so you can see the ants. The boy decided he wanted to turn it into a worm farm instead.
There was only one worm in the cage. The boy liked to watch it move through the dirt and the worm was happy to have the boy’s attention. The worm liked the dirt very much, but it liked the boy’s attention more.
The boy had sisters. They didn’t like the worm. They called it gross and made ugly faces at it.
The boy had a dog, too. The dog was always curious about the worm’s cage. He sniffed it and and sometimes barked at it.
One day the sisters let the dog into the boy’s room while the boy was having a sleepover at a friend’s house. The dog rushed in and barked at the worm. He growled at the worm. He knocked the glass cage onto the floor.
The worm and the dirt was everywhere. The dog scraped at the dirt and spread it all over the room.
The worm was in shock. It was scared. Where was the boy? How could he allow this happen?
The day went on and the worm was abandoned. It tried to get back into a part of the cage that wasn’t broken. It slimed its way over but there was no use. It had nowhere left to go.
A full day and night passed before the boy came back. He came quickly to find the worm nearly dead on the floor.
He scooped up the worm with love. The worm thought he would be put into another cage. Instead, the boy carried the worm down the stairs and out into the backyard.
The boy knelt down to the ground and dug a little hole. He gently set the worm in the ground. “Go,” he said. “You are free.”
The worm dug one of its ends into the ground and slid into the dirt. It felt so good to be in the ground again.
It wasn’t long before he discovered a whole assembly of worms all through the ground. He wasn’t alone anymore. He was free.
“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why so far from my call for help, from my cries of anguish?”
Psalm 22:2
Reflection Questions
- Why did the worm feel abandoned?
- How did the boy treat the worm when he found it on the ground?
- How has God loved you like the boy loved the worm?
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