My Life Would Be So Much Easier if I Was a Turtle

As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favorite things is to drive by this pond and look for turtles sunning themselves on the log.  Seriously.  Every time I drive by, just ask my kids!

All spring I tried different ways of taking a picture of the turtles on the log, but it turns out that turtles are easily spooked.  Every time I drove up or walked up, plop—they were off the log and into the water.  I finally told Russ that one day I was going just go SIT out there and wait for them to climb back out on the log again.  He offered to build me a turtle blind. 

This is what I saw (for about 10 seconds) when I drove up.

Aren’t they just so cute, all crowded onto the log getting some sun?

I spread out my beach towel and opened my book, prepared to wait for the turtles.

It turned out that the first thing I saw wasn’t a turtle, it was a heron.  That was pretty cool.

Then I watched the turtles slowly, slowly, slowly, start climbing back onto the log.  It was a long process…first one, then two, then both dove off.  Then one again, two and three, and they were in the water again.  I was thrilled when there were finally five on the log.  I snapped my pictures and then a semi roared by, and they were all off again.  I decided that that was as good as it was going to get.

But here’s what I was thinking that day as I sat in the spring sunshine and waited for the turtles to climb out onto the log.  I thought about how lucky they are to be cold blooded.  They NEED the sun.  If they don’t get heated up somehow, their bodies simply don’t work well.  Their muscle activity depends on chemical reactions that run quickly when they are hot and slowly when they are cold.  So if they want to run better, they have to get some sun.

I’ve watched these turtles climb out of the cold water and bask in the sun every time there is any sun. 

Oh, how I wish my life were that simple.  How I wish that my body simply refused to run well unless it had had it’s daily dose of the Son.  I wish I was single-mindedly driven to put myself in the place where I could best absorb His reflective rays each and every day, because I know that my spirit needs the Son just as much as these turtles need the sun. 

And then I reminded myself again that it is not meant to be that easy for us.  We are supposed to exercise our agency—to choose our Heavenly Father and His Son, over and over again, every single day.  Our attachment to them must be a choice, and not a function of biology. 

At least every day I drive by the pond I can look out my window and see the basking turtles as the example that they are…