Lessons from a Turtle

Our family has had many kinds of pets, and one of the most interesting was a turtle.  He lived in an aquarium with nice rocks on which to climb.  He ate live fish (which was disturbing) and did not appreciate being handled.  If someone picked him up, he would disappear inside his shell. 

Rick read an article warning such turtles carry salmonella and said the turtle had to go.  The children and I took a drive out to the coast and stopped in at a ranch reputed to welcome retired horses.   We had seen a large pond with rushes and wild birds (none big enough to carry a turtle off) and asked if we could release our turtle there.  The gentleman said yes. 

We tearfully trekked down the hill to the pond and put the turtle on the bank.  He didn’t move.  He had retreated so deeply into his shell, even his nose didn’t stick out.  We waited, hoping.  We tried to reason with him.  “Look at that beautiful pond.  Look at all those rushes and that log out there.  There’s probably a girl turtle waiting for you.  You can have little turtlettes. ” 

Finally, he peered out, and it was time for us to go.  A little teary, we headed back up the trail. 

What’s the lesson?  We have to take the risk and stick our neck out or we’ll never get further than the shell we’ve built around ourselves.