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.