Turtle

It showed up on my back porch, much to my delight! And there he sat, head tucked, quietly hiding under a water fountain that was backed up to a wall. A brown medium sized turtle! I have on occasion stopped to save a turtle when crossing a road and even brought one or two home to show my children when they were little. But this is a first to have one show up on my turf without instigating the appearance. I wanted to put a barrier around him and keep him close for the grand babies to see but my husband declared that we did not need to contain the turtle. So free he was and hopeful was I that he would choose to stick around.

Now mind you, a turtle was not on my top ten list of treasures, at least this week, but it was a gentle reminder to me that you never know when God will let a small surprise crawl right into your backyard. We just have to be watching and not get going so fast that we miss the gift. Funny, that turtle probably would not have sent most of you but it just warmed my heart like crazy. God does knows, however, what would make your heart smile in delight. But too many we miss the offering because our eyes are set on bigger things in the midst of our daily routines and responsibilities.

God's gifts of nature surround us, everything from crawling creatures to blooming colors and grasslands. And if we just slow down a bit, we would see and appreciate the beauty and variety of God's creative hand. I think about my grandkids when they stop riding their toys and all dismount only to examine a doodlebug that has crossed their path or a ladybug that has landed on a nearby leaf. They drop everything to investigate their find. We have grown too old, to have our curiosity induced, or have we? God has expressed Himself in all of His Creation, and in the appreciation of the created, living world, we will come to appreciate the Creator Himself.

Roman1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

If you are going through some rough times, and trials seem to be springing up at your every turn. Just take a minute and go outside and look around. There may not be a turtle on your back porch but there are evidences of God's hand in all of the nature that you see. He cares for the sparrows, and waters the plants with his rains. He organizes the stars and the changing of the seasons. And this great and magnificent God is right there with you as you forge through the troubles that are before you. He cares for you and I with a love so infinite and so abounding that we could never imagine its true magnitude. Just as that turtle showed up on my back porch so will his peace and security show up in your heart if you trust him. And you will wonder from where it came and how did it find its way to your heart...and then you will remember that God knows you, understands you, recognizes your needs and is there when you call. If you seek him and call on his name, you will find that he will crawl into the backyard of your heart and help you to find his joy.

The turtle is lingering in my backyard, for I have spotted him twice and have fed him fruit. The next time the grandkids are here, we will for sure be on a search to find him. He might not be so glad to see us oh but will we be ever so glad to spot him. God could not have sent the turtle to a place that he would have been appreciated any more. What a fun surprise God sent. May you too be watching for surprises that God sends your way. If the turtle wouldn't do it for you, God surely knows what would, so if you are still and quiet then you too will find joy in unexpected places.

Dear Lord, Your creative works of beauty are seen in the living nature that surrounds us. It is a display of your commitment to detail, variety, authority, balance, provision, eternal power and divine nature. May we slow down and reflect on who you are, what you have done, the creations you manifested, and the glory that shines in your everyday ways. Amen

Praise God wherever you are or whatever situation he has allowed you to be in, for his glory will shine through.