Turtle in the Shade

Don’t be like the faith lesson “sign” I saw recently in my driveway – where you might be trying to hide and catch a few zzz’s in a shady place. This turtle had wandered a ways from his normal water source, one of the ponds near our home, I’ll assume. I hope he made it back alright.

There could be a few lessons here. Pick the one that applies to your life, or be inspired to add your own!

- Don’t stray too far from the “water source” or life source especially on a “hot” (challenging) day! We need all the refreshment of God’s love and grace we can get for trying times.

- Trying to pull into your shell if things get too hot outside may work temporarily, but you’re going to have to come out eventually and face the heat. So rest up quickly, get recharged, and then be sure you know where you need to go to get back into a supportive environment! Trust God to know what’s best for you, even when you feel like hiding from your problems.

- Sometimes due to hurts and hard knocks we find we have built a hard shell around our hearts. Yes, it's for protection from further anguish. But God knows what's on the inside, how precious we are, and the soft vital tissues inside. He knows we're really longing for that tender loving touch from our Heavenly Father. He is the only one we can trust 100% to heal up our wounds and to do what's best with all the up and down times of our lives.

- Know anyone who is too slow about going where and doing what they know they need to be doing?! Sounds too familiar to me! Let's remember to keep our eyes on God, so we can move ahead in life with whatever issues we need to face head-on.

- Think about the tortoise and the hare lesson – slow & steady wins the race. Be consistent daily, taking small, steady steps to reach your goals and to become more Christ-like in your nature and outlook.
- The bottom line is: it looks like this turtle never read that fable! He had pulled over to the shade to rest like the hare did, who consequently lost the race! So measure the consequences of your actions carefully!

- Take on the nature of Jesus to run the race for the heavenly crown. Even though we have a turtle’s body (our physical body with its earthly desires), we can make progress toward being who God wants us to be. Day by day we can trust him to change us from the inside out and to bring his work in us to fruition – and to our ultimate reward.

If you think of any more faith lessons, add your comments below. Have a happy and blessed Memorial Day weekend, as we thank God for the freedom we have in him, as well as in this great land!