Turtle in the Road

            Have you ever watched a poor turtle try to cross the road in traffic? I am horrified when I see one in the middle of the road and I always want to hop out of the car and rescue it, but in most cases that would not be wise. Just the other day I was on one of my favorite roads that runs along a beautiful river and is lined with trees and all kinds of beautiful sights and creatures. It is normally a very quiet, peaceful road to travel. On that particular day, the traffic was a bit heavier than normal and as we were driving and admiring the scenery, we spotted a lone turtle trying to cross three lanes of traffic. I panicked as I watched the turtle try to avoid the huge vehicles passing right over him. Just when he thought it was safe, he would poke his little head out and start slowly moving again, only to find that another car was closely approaching. Poor little guy. I felt so sorry for him. I am not sure if he made it across or not, but it seemed like the odds were against him.

            This little turtle reminded me a lot of life. I immediately started taking mental notes for this blog post. Do you ever feel like a turtle trying to cross the road in heavy traffic? I do! Just when you think you are going along fairly well in life, all of the sudden out of nowhere, a huge obstacle almost runs you over. I am afraid that is life. I’ve always heard that if you are not currently in a challenging life circumstance, you probably have just finished going through one or you will soon be facing one! That sounds a bit discouraging I know, but again, that is life. If you have lived for very long at all, you know that this is pretty true. Life is full of hurdles and obstacles. Of course, there are moments of great joy and hope as well.

            I’m reminded again of some lessons that I have been learning in my Bible study group. I’ve recently mentioned that we have been studying about the life of Joseph in the last several chapters of Genesis. Like the poor turtle, Joseph faced some huge obstacles! But, he never tried to hide from them like the little turtle in the road that pulled his head into his shell every time there was danger. No, Joseph faced them head on. He trusted God to use his challenging circumstances and waited in the strength of the Lord and on His timing. He did not shrink in fear. He pressed forward through the danger. He remained obedient and God blessed him for it.

            Now, honestly, I often react like the turtle instead of like Joseph. When circumstances start to pile up on me, I want to stick my head somewhere in the sand and hide, or I want to run to my family and friends for help and protection. I often want to escape the many valleys and pitfalls of life. I often shrink back in fear like the little turtle does when he sees danger. As a believer, I do not have to do that. I have another option. I can turn to my heavenly Father and trust Him with all of the circumstances of my life. For me that is easier to say and harder to do.

            God’s Word tells us that He does not give us “a spirit of fear, but gave us a spirit of power, love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV) You see, we do have a choice. We can hide our heads like the turtle or we can face our life situations head-on with a spirit of “power, love and self-control”. I’d like to say that I always choose option two, but I do not. However, I pray that I am at least learning to turn to Him more often than I turn to my own fears, my own ways or the help and advice of others. Don’t get me wrong, it is often good to seek wise counsel and to have dear friends to depend on, I do not know what I would do without my sweet friends, but God is the best friend we can ever have. After all, He created us and He absolutely knows what is best for us. He knows exactly what it will take to draw us closer to Him and to teach us to trust Him more than anyone or anything else. I am a very visual person, and the little turtle in the road is a good mental picture that reminds me not to stick my head in the sand at the first sign of trouble, but rather to run to the One who knows and loves me best for help and guidance when I find myself in the tough places of life.

            I know this all sounds easy. I realize that it is not easy. I realize that life throws some pretty hard curve balls. I listen to the news; I hear the horrible stories. I personally know people right now who are dealing with cancer, infertility, surgery, emotional and physical pain and all kinds of difficult life circumstances. I know pain myself. I know grief. I know loss. I know it is NOT easy to turn to Him first. I know it is sometimes not easy to trust Him when things look impossible. But I have also experienced the peace and joy of choosing to trust Him with my life and with the lives of those I love so deeply. I prefer the peace and joy of trusting Him to the fear and anxiety of trying to face things without Him.

            I am no expert at this. I am still learning. I will still fail. I will still experience fear. I will still try to do things in my own strength. I am still human just like the rest of you. I desire to have this down pat, but I think as long as I am on this side of Heaven, I’ll still be learning about this. I’ll still be growing. I still want to live more like Joseph and less like the little turtle with his head tucked in. I pray that each time I remember the little turtle with his head tucked in, that I will also remember that God is right here with me, watching, listening, protecting, guiding, and ready to help me when I face any kind of danger and obstacles. He is so faithful. I can trust Him. So can you.

God bless you and thank you for reading. I hope my simple words encourage you in some small way. Please check back soon. I want to share some beautiful things that I learned while spending some quiet time with the Lord on a recent vacation to the beach.

 

 

Ordinary or Not?

Do you ever feel really ordinary? You are not and neither am I! Lately, I have been feeling extremely ordinary. Recently I saw a commercial that included people who are brilliant scientists, beautiful ballerinas, amazing athletes and other extraordinary people. I turned to my husband and proceeded to tell him how simple and ordinary I felt after watching that commercial. I personally know people who are brilliant like those in the commercial – very smart people - pastors, teachers, scientists, artists, musicians, doctors, computer people, etc. I do not see myself as one who has any extraordinary gifts or talents. I’m a pretty simple kind of girl. My husband always says, “With Terry, what you see is what you get.” I’m simply "me".

For many of my younger years I remember struggling with feelings of inadequacy, not really being able to see anything really special about myself. God continues to work on me in that area even though I am not a “young” person anymore. He continues to remind me that I belong to Him and that He thinks I am pretty special. (Not any more special than the next person, but special.) Through the years, many dear ones have taught me that I am uniquely designed by the same God Who created the Universe and that I am fully loved and accepted by Him and fully pleasing to Him, not because of anything I do but because I am His.

I recently had to have some surgery and I’m still in the recovery stage. I am at that place where I’m still not very useful, (and probably will not be for some time) but my mind is ready to get back into my normal routines and activities. I do not do very well when I have to sit still and miss out on the things that I love most. Even typing this is still a bit painful, but these ideas have been swirling around in my head for days, and I need to get them written before they disappear into the black holes in my brain.

Since I saw that commercial, I find myself going back to some places that I’d rather not go to. I have been letting the constantly changing circumstances of life cause me to believe some lies that I have not listened to for many years. Lies like… “you are not good enough”, “you are too old and you are done serving”, “you do not have enough education” or “you are too selfish, bossy and controlling, etc. The lies go on and on and on in my head if I let them. My dear friend calls these “lies from the pit of hell” and she is right, that is what they are. I KNOW that they are not the truth. I know that I am created in the image of God and that I am His work of art, His masterpiece and His handiwork. I know that He created me for a purpose. (Ephesians 2:10) But, sometimes I let the ugly voices in my head try to convince me that even though I am a daughter of the King, I’m still not enough. I know, it sounds crazy, but I don’t think I’m alone, I think there are others out there who struggle with the same lies.

The last couple of months have been a bit discouraging at times, yet there have been moments of pure joy sprinkled throughout the hard stuff. I’m finding that I am more and more grateful for the moments of joy and that I try hard to thank God even for the challenges of life. Life has its share of both pain and joy. We’ve all witnessed that in recent days by just turning on the news-so much heartache and evil. It’s difficult to find a “happy” story on the news these days, so we have to really keep our eyes fixed above so that we can keep shining light into the darkness of this world.

 I’ve been studying the last few chapters of Genesis and the life of Joseph. Joseph experienced some pretty difficult circumstances, some of which were brought on by others. However, God was in control through each of his circumstances (rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery, falsely accused and thrown into prison and forgotten for years…) God used Joseph’s life and circumstances not only to draw him closer to Himself, but He used Joseph to protect and provide for His own people – Israel. Through it all, Joseph trusted God’s promises and obeyed His commands.

I really want to be more like Joseph. Joseph seemed to be a pretty ordinary guy. Yet God used him for great things. In fact, most of the people that God used to teach us in His Scriptures were pretty ordinary people. They were all just people like you and me. There are a variety of examples of ordinary people who God used in Scriptures – teachers, fishermen, tent makers, homemakers, murderers, prostitutes, shepherds, blind people, short people, male and female, young and old – ordinary people. Joseph chose to be obedient no matter what, even in the most difficult circumstances. He kept on trusting and serving God even when others overlooked him, mistreated him, and rejected him. He must have wondered at times where God was and what He was doing, but he kept on trusting. God blessed his obedience and used him for His purposes.

My deepest desire is to know God and to serve Him until I am taken from this world and walking the streets of Heaven. When I am having a pity party because I feel too ordinary, that means that I am missing opportunities to hear God’s quiet whispers and to join Him where is He is working. If I am wallowing in self-pity and disappointment over myself or the painful things of this life, then I am missing precious moments to sit quietly and wait for Him to tell me what is next. When things do not go the way I would like them to, or when I feel rejected like Joseph did, or when I feel really ordinary, I need to remember that God has equipped me for His good purposes, and that He has given me everything I need for “life and godliness”. (2 Peter 1:3) What I need to do is stop feeling sorry for myself and to set my gaze back on the One who will prepare me for every step of this life. He will use me when, where and how He sees fit. It may take a while, but He is not done with me yet. I may be pretty ordinary to the world, but in His eyes, I (and you!) am His child, created for His good pleasure and purposes. I pray that I will become more and more like Joseph, trusting God and waiting on His timing and plans for my life and service. He will guide me, He will strengthen me, He will satisfy me and He will use me. (Isaiah 58:11) After all, it is really all about Him, and NOT me.

 

Thanks for reading. God bless you!