Two Turtles

Before you read this post you have to go HERE to understand it.

No seriously.....go there first!

So, the day before my birthday was a not so good day for me. And as usual when I am down, satan likes to kick me even further down. It was ugly crying and praying and finally falling asleep for 4 hours. It's my brains way of shutting off. If I am asleep. I don't think. But this is a topic for another entry.

So Friday was my birthday. I woke up trying to forget the day before determined to have a great day. I was driving to my mother-in-law's house to go swimming with Cathy(my sister-in-law) and her son Kaleb. We have to drive about 45 minutes to get there. They live in southern IL and you have to go over a bridge with a toll booth. As we approached the toll booth I found myself thinking about my friend Carsen's blog entry. And of course the day before was still looming in the back of my mind.

I thought if God can give Carsen a bird, then I want a turtle! I prayed...Dear Lord, I am struggling today to feel special. And it's my birthday. Can I have a turtle? I just want to see one. Because if I see one I will know you hear me (and heard me yesterday) when I cry out to you. I just need to feel special from you. So can I PLEASE see a turtle?

YES! I saw a turtle on the side of the highway on the way to the cabin!!!!! I slammed on the brakes, threw the van in reverse and backed up to where the turtle was. (not to mention scared my children half to death!) It was a baby turtle and as cute as can be. I picked him up and took him with me.

I called Todd all excited to tell him, "God hears me, he really hears me! I got a birthday present from God! How cool is that?" I also shared with him and my in-laws how I had prayed and God answered.

I took the turtle home and was planning on keeping her. The only problem is I didn't have a peace about it. I KNOW there are a million and one reasons why you shouldn't take an animal from the wild, so don't get your panties in a bunch trying to tell all of them to me. This was more of a spiritual dilemma. I will try to explain.

When I prayed I asked God to SEE a turtle and then I would know he heard me. I believe God placed that turtle on the road just for me that day. But I don't think he ever intended for me to keep it. And by taking it I feel like I over stepped a boundary. Does that make sense? I seriously did NOT have a peace about it.

So on Saturday I took it to a local park and released it into the lake. Before I did I had the girls say goodbye, Lillie, my animal lover was in hysterics. Then I asked them to give me a moment. I prayed over the turtle and asked God to forgive me for taking something that was to bless me but wasn't mine to keep, and that he would allow this turtle to thrive in it's new environment. I then released it into a shallow part of the lake. It quickly swam under water and went by a log, poked it's head above water and looked back at me as if to say, "thank you" and swam away deeper into the lake. It felt good and it felt right. And I feel God spoke to my spirit that I was indeed needed to rescue this turtle. When I found him he was so very dried out that I swore his tail was gonna break off. I took it for 24 hours and gave it water to be in, food to eat and then released it into a new safe environment.

The coolest thing is, this baby turtle was not the only one God gave me for my birthday. He in fact gave me two. We went to have dinner at a new friend's house for my birthday and she had made me a turtle cake. How cool was that? Boy did I feel loved!

God is good!

hugs, Kristina