We sometimes forget we are in His hands.
Early this summer, I was taking a walk and encountered a little box turtle crossing the road. It was really close to the grass, but I took my foot and gently nudged it to safety.
I reasoned that it didn’t really matter how close it was to the grass, if a car came flying by, it would have been crushed.
However, the little turtle did not appreciate my assistance. It immediately pulled up into its shell. As I continued with my walk, I thought about how it had no idea I was helping. It just knew something huge, moved it. It was afraid.
I hadn’t thought too much about the little turtle until my son came home last week and told me a similar story. He had actually pulled his car over and picked up a box turtle and moved it out of harm’s way. This particular turtle, actually hissed at him before pulling into its shell.
It wasn’t very thankful either.
I’ve thought a lot about those little turtles over the past few days. I’ve no doubt, in their minds, they were simply going the way they wanted to go and minding their own business. They were completely oblivious to the dangers of the cars flying by them.
But, just because they were unaware of the danger, didn’t make it any less real.
If I’m honest, I can admit that I have a lot in common with those turtles. There have been times in my life when I wanted to go where I wanted to go, when I wanted to go there. I liked choosing my own path and just like the one that hissed, I didn’t like to be knocked off of my chosen path. I often didn’t take interference too graciously.
Thankfully, God is always forgiving and good to me whether I’ve been thankful at the time, or not. God’s goodness is not dependent on my reactions. He has time and time again, saved me in spite of me.
With age, and hopefully, wisdom, I’ve learned that He always has a plan and I’ve come to accept that it’s often different than mine. I’ve come to understand that there are sometimes dangers that I’m unaware of, but I trust that God knows about them and has my best interest in mind.
Faith is a lifelong process and like the little turtles, I sometimes still want to pull into my shell when I’m bumped off of my path, but my trust is stronger these days. Now, I can usually appreciate the scenery of the detour. The view is often amazing.
A couple of turtles reminded me to trust God’s plan. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂