He Chose the Lowly things... (1 Cor. 1:28)

Remnants of snow from yesterday

 Today was an absolutely beautiful day. The sun kissed the earth and melted the last remnants of ice from yesterday’s bitter cold. It still amazes me how we can go from snow to 54 degree weather in a matter of 12 hours. With the relative warmth and sun, it was a perfect day to get out and put my hands in the dirt. I spent some time weeding and preparing the garden beds. The soil was soft and easy to work with. I pulled up the winter crop of broccoli that had stopped producing, and as I removed the roots, I found 4 or 5 healthy looking earthworms around each plant. After carefully untangling them from the roots, I placed them gently back into the dark, moist soil.  

Worm facts:

1.      Worm worked compost or worm casts are the most nutrient rich natural compost known.

2.      When earthworms tunnel through the ground they bring air into the soil. This allows plant roots to grow more easily.

3.      Worms cannot hear or see.

4.      Even without eyes, a worm can still sense light and will move away from it. It also has touch-sensitive organs to feel vibrations in the ground.

5.      Earthworms do not have lungs and instead use their skin to breath.

6.      A worm is a “hermaphrodite” since  it has both male and female reproductive organs; however, they still need to mate with another worm in order to produce offspring.

7.      Worms can have between 1-5 pairs  of hearts depending on the type of worm.

8.      Earthworms can survive for several weeks under water providing there    is sufficient oxygen in the water to support them. They surface after heavy rains as a response to  high relative humidity because they can move around safely without drying out.

In 1881 Charles Darwin wrote:-
"The plow is one of the most ancient and most valuable of man's inventions; but long before he existed, the land was in fact regularly plowed and still continues to be thus plowed by earthworms. It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures."

It’s amazing how a creature so little, so unobtrusive and so under-appreciated can have such a large and positive impact on its environment. Day after day it slowly changes dead and decaying matter into nutrient rich compost. It seems like there could be a lesson there for us!