Spring, Turtles, Friendship, etc...

The world is waking up. We do not deserve spring. We who act as though winter will never end and is out to destroy us... we meaning I... winter, like all things, ought to improve faith. It ought to make us grow.

When winter comes, turtles go down to the bottom of my parents' pond and burrow in the mud. Their metabolisms slow way down... they barely breathe... what oxygen they need comes from the mud and water, through special pores in their skin... I read somewhere that there are special spots near their tails where they "breathe" all through winter.

Do you think it worries them? "Now it is time to be barely alive for six months." Do you think they feel resentful? Do they think they're being punished? Or, do you think they burrow down with a certain amount of confident expectation, that through this weird method of preservation, they would wake up to something glorious and miraculous?

Maybe I'm reading too much into things... the above options don't really seem like turtley things to think and feel.

What I am saying is this: God asks more of the turtles than he asks of me... at least, when it comes to winter... I've much to learn. Jesus might have said "Consider the turtle. He's nearly dead for much of the year. And yet that's my Father keeping and seeing and preserving him."

Turtles aside, spring was here today. And I was in the company of a friend... a dear friend... who lives far away. I do so love a good returning. We walked and chatted and took in the day... the breeze was swift... the sun was thick... but really, I was basking in the blessing of a faithful confidant... and the sage wisdom coming from a life that is a few steps ahead of my own... lived out with purpose and love and so much honesty. The enduring theme: the faithfulness of the Lord is our only boast. And he gives us so much to be thankful for.

Here is to many more returnings, coffee talks, spring days, and unassuming turtles.