Painted Turtle
John Miller
08/25/21
- Windstream Mail
R E F L E C T I O N S Thoughts on nature and the Christian faith - 8/23/21 ______________________________________________________________________ "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first." - I Thess. 4:16 |
|
|
 |
I had set up my photography blind near the marshy end of a local lake well before sunrise and settled down to await the coming dawn. As the morning light began to invade the area I was watching, I noticed a movement near a partially submerged tree in front of me. At first it looked like a mud-covered rock, but then a small nose appeared followed by the distinctive striped markings of a painted turtle. As it climbed up out of the mud and slime, it paused to raise its head and enjoy the warmth and light of the rising sun. What was once darkness and mud became color and beauty in the light of a new morning. Often our world seems to be filled with a similar darkness and filth. In fact, if we are honest, we can see traces of that filth within our own hearts. But one day, we will rise above it all and bask in the light of the presence of God himself. Slime and dirt will be washed away and we will be changed into the beauty and color of a new creation. Won't it be wonderful to raise our heads into that light? Won't it be freeing to see the filth we have accumulated wash away? And won't it be humbling to witness what we used to be suddenly transformed into what we were always meant to be? While we wait for that glorious day of his appearing, let us try daily to at least climb out of the filth for awhile and raise our heads in praise as we bask in his light. As Christians, we are not what we were, but we still are not what we some day will be. Painted turtles know where to go to experience periods of warmth and cleansing. So should we. - John
