Baby Snapping Turtle
A knock on my door lead to an unexpected adventure. An elderly neighbor had encountered a clutch of turtle hatchlings wandering around a parking lot while he was out on a walk. He began collecting the baby turtles one at a time but only had enough energy to rescue the first one. He needed help and came to my door.
After noting the location of the baby turtles, I grabbed a bucket and assessed the situation. These were not ordinary baby turtles, but baby snapping turtles: omnivores that can bite off a finger if provoked. I quickly realized how underprepared I was for the task at hand.
Thankfully, another neighbor saw me failing to coax a baby turtle into my bucket and asked if I needed help. She had thick garden gloves and a shared desire to save the little creatures. As I followed her with my bucket, she gently placed them inside. Together, we rescued 11 baby turtles and delivered them to a nearby pond.
I learned a few important lessons that day:
- We are better together.
As neighbors, we need to be there for each other. - We all have a role to play.
Rescuing those turtles was a team effort. I wouldn’t have known the turtles were in danger if my elderly neighbor hadn’t knocked on my door. I couldn’t have gathered them without my neighbor and her gloves. She couldn’t have collected them if it wasn’t for my bucket. - Every life matters to God.
No exceptions.
When I opened the door to this adventure, the timing was inconvenient. When I saw the concern on my neighbor’s face, I realized this visit was about more than just turtles — he needed to see God’s love through me.
When I realized the situation could cost me a finger, I almost walked away. I could have allowed a stereotype to cloud my value of life, leaving those little turtles vulnerable to predators and cars. Instead, I asked for help doing what I couldn’t do alone and together we gave the turtles an opportunity to thrive and fulfill their God-given purpose in the pond’s ecosystem.
God brought us all here, at this time, for His purpose. May we remember this as we serve one another.