A Worm in the Salad

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians. 4:32

"Look!" Whispered Luke to Levi who was sitting next to him, "There is a worm in the salad!" They were threshing and the farmer at who's farm they were at, his wife, known to be a wonderful cook, had prepared a scrumptious meal for the hard workers. But... one small inch worm had been overlooked and was now crawling across a lettuce leaf. The host noticed and took the bowl outdoors and removed the offending little creature.

No one else save the few sitting near the bowl saw the worm and they all ate with gusto save those who saw the worm. Those few ate only the tiniest bit because "they thought there might be more worms hidden in the food." Their poor hostess urged them with more food, but they refused. The others could not understand why they were eating so little and smirking at each other. Even when the dessert came out they only ate what they had to to keep from being rude.

They teased all the others unmercifully later telling them they had probably eaten countless worms. They threw out the whole meal because of one little worm in the salad. And hurt their poor hostess who had worked so hard to prepare a good meal for them all and then some refused to eat it.

You see, we'll often do this in life. We'll dump someone or some friendship over one petty little thing. We'll see one thing that is offending to us and loose a long-lasted friendships over one little disagreement. We'll see one fault in someone; something we don't like and we'll decide that they are good for nothing. We'll throw out the whole meal because of one little worm in the salad.

Now I have to be honest with you, the other day I was eating and as I went to cut up my broccoli; I found a nice fat, inch or longer caterpillar/worm nestled neatly in the middle of it. No longer alive of course but I did not relish the idea of eating broccoli that had been cooked with worms. I threw out the broccoli (It was organic by the way :) and ate the rest of the meal. (No, I didn't cook lunch that day, I won't say who did either.)

It is like that in life, we can overlook the part or fault of a person in love instead of determining him/her to annoying to be around because she talks to loud or he eats to fast or because, well, you can put whatever that someone does that annoys you there.

It is important to throw aside that one little worm that annoys you and accept the person as they are instead of pulling them apart. After all they have to put up with living with you too, and I am sure there are some things you do that annoys the other person too. Forbearance is necessary. There is a reason why it is one of the fruits of the spirit. God knew our need to learn to be long suffering and forbearing of one another.

In other words are we going to appreciate the rest of the person or just talk about there one or two faults all the time. Throw out the whole meal because of the worm?

This story is one that I read in a magazine several years back. I rewrote it now in my own words but the happening is true as far as I know. This is also what the story was used for then too.

Beautiful Snow

This poem is written by a young woman who lived during the early part of the American war at the Commercial Hospital in Cincinnatti. She was once the pride of respectable parentage. Her first step down the wrong path led her farther into sin and destruction. She died in disgrace and shame, a brokenhearted outcast. She was highly educated and could have proved to be bright in society but instead her life was a melancholy ruin.

Among her personal effects was found the manuscript for the following poem, it was immediately published the following morning in the National Union before her burial had yet occurred. Thomas Buchanan Read, one of the first American poets was so stirred by the pathos of the lines that he followed the corpse to its final resting place.

She was twenty-two years of age, and her poem is one of brightest gems in American literature.

Oh, the snow, the beautiful snow,
Filling the sky and earth below,
Over the housetops, over the street,
Over the heads of people you meet;
Dancing - Flirting - Skimming along
Beautiful snow! It can do no wrong;
Flying to kiss a fair lady's cheek,
Clinging to lips in frolicsome freak;
Beautiful snow from Heaven above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love!

Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow,
How the flakes gather and laugh as they go
Whirling about in maddening fun;
Chasing - Laughing - Hurrying by,
It lights on the face and sparkles the eye;
And the dogs with a bark and a bound
Snap at the crystals as they eddy around;
The town is alive, and its heart is aglow,
to welcome the coming of beautiful snow!
How wild the crowd goes swaying along,
Hailing each other with humor and song.

How the gay sleighs like meteors flash by,
Bright for a moment, then lost to the eye;
Ringing - Swinging - Dashing they go,
Over the crest of the beautiful snow;
Snow so pure when it falls from the sky,
As to make one regret to see it lie
To be trampled and tracked by thousands of feet
Till it blends with the filth in the horrible street.

Once I was pure as the snow, but I fell,
Fell like the snow flakes from Heaven to Hell;
Fell to be trampled as filth in the street,
Fell to be scoffed, to be spit on and beat;
Pleading - Cursing - Dreading to die,
Selling my soul to whoever would buy;
Dealing in shame for a morsel of bread,
Hating the living and fearing the dead,
Merciful God! have I fallen so low!
And yet I was once like the beautiful snow.

Once I was fair as the beautiful snow,
With an eye like a crystal, a heart like its glow;
Once I was loved for my innocent grace-
Flattered and sought for the charms of my face!
Fathers - Mothers - Sisters all,
God and myself I have lost by my fall;
The veriest wretch that goes shivering by,
Will make a wide sweep lest I wander too nigh,
For all that is on or above me I know,
There is nothing so pure as the beautiful snow.

How strange it should be that this beautiful snow
Should fall on a sinner with nowhere to go!
How strange it should be
When the night comes again
If the snow and the ice struck, my desperate brain!
Fainting - Freezing - Dying alone,
Too wicked for prayer; too weak for a moan
To be heard in the streets of the crazy town,
Gone mad in the joy of snow coming down;
To be and to die in my terrible woe,
With a bed and a shroud of the beautiful snow.

Helpless and foul as the trampled snow,
Sinner, despair not! Christ stoopeth low
To rescue the soul that is lost in sin,
And raise it to life and enjoyment again.
Groaning - Bleeding - Dying for thee,
The crucified hung on the cursed tree!
His accents of mercy fall soft on thine ear,
"Is mercy for me?
Will He heed my weak prayer?
Oh God! In the stream that for sinners did flow
Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."