Worm Hunt

In Faith-filled Moments, Kelli B. Trujillo gives parents suggestions for making everyday kids' experiences more creative and fun. Day 17 is featured below.

17: Amaze your child as she considers God’s intricate knowledge of every creature on the planet—even worms!

supplies:

• rubber boots

• umbrellas

experience

After (or during) a thorough rain, venture outside with your child to hunt for worms. You shouldn’t have to look too hard—you’ll likely find several stranded on sidewalks, driveways, or in garden puddles. (Try to steer your child toward living worms.) If she’s gutsy, encourage your child to pick up a worm and look at it, noting its size, shape, and color. Laugh together as the worms tickle your hands. Then put the creatures back down in a worm-friendly area, like a garden or your front lawn. (If your child is enjoying the worm hunt, give her an extra challenge: “rescuing” the worms from the driveway or sidewalk and delivering them all to the flowerbed.) As you look at the worms together, see if your child is surprised by the number of worms she’s found. Invite her to guess how many worms live in your yard.

connection

Scientists estimate that in an average yard, there are as few as five to as many as twenty-five or more earthworms per cubic foot of topsoil. Talk to your kids about how there are hundreds or even thousands of worms in your yard, living and eating below the surface. Other than during rainstorms, you usually don’t see them—but God does. God knows about and cares for every single creature he created, even those that are hidden from our sight. God knows what each and every one of us is up to, from a mighty elephant to a human child to an earthworm. God knows everything. Share Luke 12:6–7 with your child, emphasizing God’s knowledge of intricate details and his care for the life of a small bird. You may also want to talk about Matthew 6:25–29, a passage that emphasizes God’s care not just for birds but also for flowers.

As you consider together how truly awesome and incomprehensible God’s knowledge is, foster in your child feelings of awe and wonder at God’s greatness and goodness. Help her to emotionally connect with the truth that God loves and cares for her—and knows every intricate detail about her life.

exploration

You may want to ask your child questions like these: Imagine it was your job to keep track of all the worms in our yard and to know everything about each one of them. Could you do it? Would you want that job? Why or why not? Now think about God’s “job”: knowing about and caring for every single creature on this entire planet. How do you feel when you think about how God is able to know, keep track of, and care for everything on earth? What are some ways God cares for us?

Book excerpts from Faith-filled Moments

Wesleyan Publishing House