Lessons, Inch by Inch
I lift up my eyes to you who sit enthroned in heaven. Psalm 123:1
Fascinating – yes! Pretty – from a distance. The lowly inchworm is still capable of teaching us a life-lesson or two. Cathy Mayfield (All God’s Creatures) shares an inspirational lesson she learned from this tiny thing.
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As I watched the rainwater sparkle on the oak leaves hanging near our porch, I noticed something flying—or rather dangling in midair. Squinting from my vantage point on our porch swing, I saw the tiny speck move. Delighted to recognize a green inchworm, I couldn’t help but smile and began humming the song Danny Kaye sang in the movie Hans Christian Andersen: “Inchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds.”
However, my thought of the caterpillar larva, a.k.a. inchworm, swinging in space seemed an apt description. I could not see anything connecting it to anything else. Peering into the morning light, I saw it vertically perform its inching move, from whence its name came. It climbed, inch by inch, up an invisible thread to the tree branch above before it disappeared, camouflaged against the green oak leaves.
In a pensive mood brought on by the sight of that tiny speck of creation climbing through the air and the lilting melody of the song in my mind, I pondered the many lessons this little inchworm could teach. The perseverance evident in its climb reminded me how often I feel I’m hanging on to the top of a high precipice by an invisible rope, working hand over hand to hold on with nothing to grip. At those times, God often reaches down, and if I choose to place my hand in His, He pulls me to the top. It’s my choice, though.
I also considered the direction the inchworm had traveled. Looking up through the oak’s branches, I saw the heavens. If it had continued climbing a truly invisible thread, it may have ended up in glory. The thought brought heaven a tiny bit closer as I closed my Bible and prayed.
Creator God, thank You for the invisible thread of Your Spirit pulling me ever homeward. AMEN.