Recently, I spent an entire Sunday pouting. It’s a skill I developed early in life, as I’m sure my parents will attest, and have spent over half a century perfecting it. Perhaps you can relate a similar experience from your own life where the expectations you had failed to align with what actually occurred; therefore, the perfected pout! You see, I was anticipating an opportunity to Watch the Worm, a day to nestle in my Lane recliner with the fireplace aglow and pay attention to every single snowflake that fell in accumulation of the forecasted eight inches for Jackson. Since it is not a regular winter occurrence for me, I relish the moments which allow me to simply Be Still and observe God’s intriguing creation of something as simple as a snowflake. However, I spent the day pouting because all we received was rain.

Now, I’m sure inquiring minds want to know why in the world someone would use a phrase such as Watch the Worm to describe an experience like peering out the window in eagerness to watch the snowflakes collect on the grass, so allow me to explain. Kimberlee Ireton shares in her book, The Circle of Seasons, a story that communicates so well what it means to Take It Slow, to embrace the irretrievable moments of Ordinary Time, and to relish the unique details that God establishes in His wonderful creation. She paints a picture for readers of a walk with her dawdling son, Jack, who “was a half-dozen paces [behind her] when he called out.” Rather than hurrying him along, Ireton turned around to find Jack watching the sidewalk as “an earthworm was making its arduous way from someone’s lawn to the grass planting strip.” Together, they Watched the Worm “slither across the sidewalk and burrow into the grass.”

Similar to the concepts shared in the post Just Be Curious, Ireton reminds us to be “attentive to the presence of God in the moment,” to actually Watch the Worm perform its unique purpose for which it was created, and to be cautious not to let a Kairos moment evolve into a Chronos one. This example is one of the reasons I truly relish hanging out with toddlers, they have yet to lose this overwhelming sense of living in the moment, just celebrating that worm’s journey from one patch of grass to the next, and they release their Inner Scarlett to praise God with their attention. Jack was present with that worm; he didn’t feel the need to rush home for lunch and miss out on this enthralling encounter. Why does adulthood seem to override this delight to Watch the Worm?

Recounting another story related to Ordinary Time, Ireton retells a story from the Washington Post of a 2007 experiment during rush hour in a Metro station, where an “internationally acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell, clad in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, played some of the greatest classical music on his Stradivarius…of the almost 1,100 people who walked past Bell that morning, only one person recognized him and only four stopped to listen.” Everyone was too hurried to embrace A Listening Life and experience for free what others pay to hear. “In a culture as busy, hurried and preoccupied as ours, it is hardly surprising that we think we don’t have time…Our schedules and to-do lists are so full that we don’t have time for disruptions, even beautiful ones.” As I ponder how I approach most of my days and consider my Habit of Margin, I wonder if I had been in the Metro that day, which would I choose: to Watch the Worm or continue on in pursuit of my daily achievements?

Considering how Rooted in Time we are as human beings, I wonder how many earthworms or violinists I have failed to notice in my life. How many times do I “miss out on the ways and places God encounters us—or tries to—in the midst of say, rush hour on an ordinary Friday [or a Simple Tuesday] morning. We don’t give ourselves time or permission to notice, let alone stop and listen awhile. Living the season of Ordinary Time can hallow our daily lives and enable us to remember that God is with us—always and everywhere.” I’m challenged to ask myself the question: Are you willing to invite Him into your day? What am I too busy to see or experience on an ordinary day?

Perhaps, my love for being outdoors and in nature allows stories like these to touch a nerve or two—to consider how many creatures I never notice just going about doing what God created them to do. More importantly, how many Defining Moments with others have I missed because of my desire to strive and achieve? How can I be more intentional about Holding Space for others? Conceivably, we might even have an opportunity to stop and Watch the Worm together!

Do you have a story to share about a moment when you would have missed out on an opportunity to Watch the Worm had you not been present in the moment? Please share in the comments.

References:

Ireton, K.C. (2018). The circle of seasons: Meeting God in the church year. [Kindle version]. (unlimited)