Five worms from God

I have been given an opportunity to stay in idyllic Hondeklipbaai in pretty Namaqualand for a couple of months. Having been here for roughly a month, and making the most of the ocean by taking a walk next to it at least once a day, everyday, I decided to force myself away from the water today, and to rather walk through the ever so pretty veld which was strewn with flowers, it being that season of the year. As I set out on a lesser traveled path, I started up a conversation with God. We hadn't really settled on a topic yet when my eye caught a rather large worm in the road. I put my foot next to it to create some reference to its size and snapped a photo. As I was straightening up I got the distinct impression that God asked me a question. 'What if I showed you five of these today, and then no more?' I was incredulous and asked God why He would do that? His answer reverberated with the blog I had been writing earlier in the morning on the will of God. 'Because it is my will. I want to.'
Why would God want to show me five worms? I asked Him this question. The answer astonished me. For no other reason than that He wanted to. It would not change the course of History. It would not make an economic, political or any other impact on any scale. It would not change a single thing, except that God's will would be done, and that was reason enough.
I am ashamed to say that I took the easy way out. I focused on the words 'what if.' What if works like an escape hatch. God has room to maneuver out of the commitment to show me five worms, and five worms only, and I don't get to think any less of Him for doing so, as He never actually said He would do it - He simply said 'what if...' I responded that if it were His will to show me five worms, and then no more, then I would be very blessed that He went through all that trouble to show them to me. I figured that would be the end of the worm saga. Our Father had something else in mind.

I kept walking and talking with God when suddenly I noticed another one of these worms next to the road. I giggled out loud and told our Father that I thought it was a good joke. I snapped a quick picture and went off laughing and talking with Him. I was still focused on the words 'what if', not thinking for one second that the number five was an actual number to be achieved.

A couple of hundred meters on, I suddenly got the urge to stop and look back. As I did so, I noticed yet another of these worms on one of the succulents next to the road. The words 'that makes it three' rang clearly through my head. I think it was the first time I truly realized that God was keeping score. He was counting these worms, and He intended to show me five of them. I will admit that I had to wipe a tear from my eye. I was touched that He would care enough to show His interest in me in such a spectacular, yet seemingly insignificant manner. This was when I asked Him to talk to me about His will in more detail.
He talked to me about establishing creation by His will. He said the words, and creation still functions the way He set it up all those years ago. He had me stop and listen to the different bird calls, pointing out that they sounded the way they do, because He determined it to be so. That is what His will is like. He then told me that mankind finds joy in trying to alter these things and that sometimes they even experience successes on a small scale. Then they would congratulate themselves and revel in the fact that they had outdone God, somehow believing that they had disproved Him by their minute victories. I honestly thought I could sense His amusement over this. Then He became serious again, pointing out that because He willed it to be so, nature still functions and reproduces the way He set it up to do. That is the power of God's will. It is immovable, unchangeable and steadfast.
He then returned to human interference on a personal level. Often, we will do things that are outside of God's will. It will lead us away from the perfect plan He has for our lives. Sometimes, when we look back upon our lives we can even see these moments of flawed decision making. Is that the end of it then? Did we then miss the boat, so to speak? God said no to these questions. He returned to the five worms, allowing each worm to represent a moment of Godly intervention. God will intervene to achieve His will in your life. You respond by making the wrong decision. He then sends you a second worm, or rather, He intervenes again at another point in your life. Again, you choose not to follow His precepts. This pattern continues until the day you die. Five interventions each, I asked? By now, I had become fixated on the number. Again the answer was no. As many times as is necessary for each individual. God will keep on 'interfering' in your life to achieve His perfect will for your life. If this fills you with dread, then you have not gotten to know God as the loving Father that He is.
The words our Father used, was actually 'short-circuited'. He would short-circuit our lives to get our attention and get it back on track. God cares. He cares enough to call five worms to illustrate how much He cares.

At this point, I had come across worm number four in the road. I had become so engrossed by the teaching I was receiving that I had clean forgotten to look out for the worms. That was me. Our Father never forgets the promises He made to us - after all, those are His will. He was quick to tell me to look down so I wouldn't miss the worm. I didn't. I walked on along this same path, when an even smaller path veered off from it toward the ocean. I had the urge to turn off towards this new path, but gritted my teeth and decided to walk on.
Our Father then asked me why I wouldn't turn down the other path. I answered that it was not the one on which I had found the worms, and there was still one more worm outstanding. By this time, I realized I had become a little tense over finding the last worm. I found myself searching for it, where as the others had simply 'appeared' to me, so to speak. This was when our Father asked me a crucial question. 'Can you summon worms to appear?' No!, I answered flabbergasted. 'Then why are you searching for them, or forcing the route as if you could, as if you had any control over them being there or not?'
I stopped. I wanted to argue the point of experience. Experience had taught me that worms are to be found on this path. I realized the senselessness of the argument before I even voiced it. Then I wanted to argue that if I did not strain my eyes and searched for the last worm, I might miss it and the whole lesson would be flawed and tainted, not because God failed to deliver, but because I failed to do my bit.
Then our Father asked me if it was my will to see five worms, or if it was His will to show me five worms. Well, honestly, one photo of a pretty worm would have been enough for me. I would have to admit that five was His will, not mine. That was when He reminded me of Abraham.
Abraham had been given the promise of Isaac with his wife Sarah. When things did not happen as Abraham had envisioned they should, or as timeously as he had hoped they would, Abraham made alternative arrangements for God’s will to be fulfilled. This was completely unnecessary. God did what He said He would do in His own time and kept His word to Abraham and Sarah both.
For me to insist on remaining on the original path, would be trying to force God’s will into action, not unlike the steps Abraham took. I was clearly given the instruction to forget about the last worm. It was our Father’s will that I should find it, and He would point it out to me when the time was ripe. In the meantime, I could walk down the new road and enjoy all the splendidly beautiful things He had in store for me on this path. I did, and it was truly spectacular.

And then, all of a sudden, there was a fifth worm. Yes, I had seen five worms. I never needed to walk back on my own steps to rediscover the previous worms. I did not have to do anything to find even one of the five that I did see. Most importantly, I did not see any more worms after this, even though I was not even halfway through my hike yet. If it is God’s will that you see five worms, you will see them. He does not need you to do anything to achieve His will, it is His will, not yours. He will not give you any more, or any less than what He promised. That is His perfect will for your life. He will keep His word to you. He has never failed to keep a single promise. And if He leads you on new pathways that seem to veer off the one that saw the fulfillment of His promises, then go! He will keep His word, even on the new path you are traveling. His will shall be done.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
You can follow Miekie's daily Bible Study blog, Bybel Legkaart, here in English & Afrikaans.
You may prefer to follow the traveling blog, A Pretty Tourist.
For more crafty ideas and great product reviews, visit A Pretty Talent on Facebook.
If you are in a literary mood, follow Miekie's musings, stories and poetry on A Pretty Author - Miekie.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making life PRETTY.
You can subscribe to any of these blogs and receive regular updates by email. Simply register your email address at the top of the applicable blog.