God Likes Gummy Worms

Last summer I was preparing dinner one evening when I heard a radio announcement, “Today is ‘National Gummy Worm’ day!”

(Yes, seriously there is a National Gummy Worm Day! If you missed this important holiday, then start making plans for next year.)

With rare playfulness, I went to my computer and shot out an email to several friends: “Hope you had a great National Gummy Worm Day. If not, you still have time to celebrate this important holiday.”

A couple hours later, one of those friends phoned. “Are you going to be home tonight?”

“Yeesss”, I answered a bit hesitantly, not sure where his question was leading.

“My wife and I have the evening to ourselves and wondered if we could come over for a bit.”

Well, that sounded good to me. I kicked into emergency house-cleaning mode, and an hour or so later they pulled in. And presented me with a bag of Gummy Worms!

Their spontaneous response to my email formed a fun memory, and more importantly, strengthened the bond of our friendship. I was touched that they would take their time, gas (and Gummy Worms!) to spend part of their evening with me. In the year since, God has used that memory as a reminder that I am a man with friends.  That’s proof enough for me that God likes Gummy Worms!

Seemingly insignificant moments may end up adding definition to our lives.

On my first visit to what would be my church for several years, I was warmly (and somewhat humorously) greeted by a member of the praise band, “You’re not from around here, are you?” He had no way of knowing that I had walked in that morning with little sense of identity, and that I was feeling desperately alone.

Nearly a decade later, he and I have a friendship that has grown through tears, hugs, exercises in extreme patience (on his part!), discussions, a few disagreements, months of silence (my fault, not his) and countless cups of coffee. A valuable friendship was planted on that Sunday morning when he took a moment to be friendly to me, a stranger.

I once emailed an author to express my gratitude for a book he had written. He responded graciously, and an email friendship ensued. A man whose gifts of communication have touched countless lives made time for me in his busy schedule, and has become a source of encouragement.

I suspect that God delights in taking the simple moments of our days, and using them to infuse our lives with direction, purpose, and meaning.

We may long for big and exciting experiences. But let’s not forget to treasure the simple moments: the expressions of gratitude, the friendly greetings, and even the bags of Gummy Worms!

Be thankful for today’s “insignificant moments”. They may be key foundation stones to the future God is building for you!