Michael was
surprised the next day to find the turtle back near the street instead of
closer to the river. Again, he carried it to our back yard and pointed it
toward the river.
When he
found it a third time near the street, we called my sister-in-law Belinda,
who’s a veterinarian. She informed us that turtles always go back to where they
came from. She advised Michael to put the turtle on the grass, on the other
side of the street, pointed in the direction it apparently wanted to go.
Michael did so, and we can assume it found its way home because we never saw it
again.
“God created
mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created
them…
God looked at
everything he had made, and found it very good.” – Genesis 1:27, 31
God created us in His image. At our core, we are very good. Unfortunately, thanks to the
story of Adam and Eve, we tend to think of ourselves as fallen people who
struggle to do good things. The truth is, we are not bad people trying to do what’s
good. Rather, we are good people who
sometimes do hurtful things to ourselves, to other people, and to our planet.
We feel
happy when we experience kindness and love because Love is our origin. The
reason that feelings like anger, jealousy, and sadness are uncomfortable, and
the reason we’re distressed by illness and hardship, is because these things
are contrary to our inherent goodness.
We know that
‘here’ isn’t our true home. Kind of like the turtle, we have a deep desire to connect
with where we came from. We’re drawn to people and actions that bring us peace
and joy because they allow us to experience the Love that created us: God.
So, take a
moment to remind yourself that God created you in His image! You were created in love, for love, and by Love. Keep
this in mind as you strive to move toward what is kind and loving, in any way
you can. Yes, you will make choices that take you in the opposite direction. When
that happens, forgive yourself as you want to be forgiven, turn around, and then
start again toward Love.
By the way,
Saturday morning the idea came to me out of the blue to write about Michael’s
turtle experience. Sunday afternoon we biked on the Towpath, and I took this
picture of the large snapping turtle. I thought the timing was pretty cool!
“Lord, help me remember
that You created me, and so I am inherently good.”
Thank you for
reading my reflection. © 2022 Gina Bedell
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