“I Tried to Rescue a Turtle”
(This story has a happy ending)
Yesterday, I was sitting inside the car, while JR was in the dermatology office, when I saw a turtle on the sidewalk. The past night’s heavy rain must have carried the turtle to higher ground.
The turtle was trying to crawl out of the walk but its shell was too big for the opening. Besides, the turtle’s direction was toward the parking lot and the street, and cars were coming in. I knew I had to help it.
With my shoe, I pushed it down the sidewalk and across the parking lot to the grass, hoping it wouldn’t stick out its head and bite me. (I did not want to pick it up.)
Thank God there was an area without a cement barrier; I was able to push it onto the grass. That’s when I saw the ditch. The incline going down was steep, but I was determined to give the turtle a heavy push so it would land close to the ditch.
BAD MISTAKE! I gave it a heavy kick but it got stuck midway!
I should have left it there and went on back to the car…BUT I started thinking, “What if it would slide down and turn over and couldn’t flip back up? It will bake in the sun!”
I looked around and saw a stick by the fence near the dumpster. Using the stick, I pushed the turtle.
But the unthinkable happened. It got close to the water all right but it was UPSIDE down!
Oh no! I’ve seen turtles in documentaries on TV where they just die because they cannot turn over. The helpless turtle was in this position for a long time. I should have left it alone halfway. I only wanted to help but it ended up upside down – to DIE anyway? I felt so awful.
I can go down there and push it with the stick some more.
I took off my sandals and started to go down the wet, slippery grass a couple feet down, placing my weight toward the incline. I felt so badly but also felt so stupid and afraid. “What if I slide all the way down to the ditch. I wonder how deep the water is.” I was troubled. I wished I had picked up the turtle and thrown it into the ditch, but it was too late. (Mary Grace was inside the car, too, but I don’t know if she was even watching me. Later she said she was watching and saw me disappear. She took a pic of me.)
I had to rethink what I was doing, for I was already picturing this in the 6:00 o’clock news: “Woman Drowned Trying to Rescue a Turtle.”
So I climbed back up, especially since the stick was too short anyway to reach the turtle.
I’ve done what I needed to do. I tried to rescue it but…“JESUS, please help the turtle! So sorry but I cannot go down there.” I kept praying for the turtle to turn over. I was getting really emotional at this time, pleading with Jesus to help the turtle turn over. My waiting seemed like forever. I decided to take one more picture before I left, but then when I zoomed in, in that windy environment, I saw movement. I turned on the vid and captured the happy ending of this story.
I helped rescue a turtle after all, but thank God for giving the turtle the ability to turn over. I was able to go back home and sleep well last night. (And to think I was not even supposed to be sitting in that car yesterday to see the turtle in distress.)
Would you have tried to help a turtle like that?
Psalms 50:10-11 “For every beast of the forest is Mine……And everything that moves in the field is Mine.”