Turtle Tales
We recently returned from a family vacation to Costa Rica. We were so blessed for the adventure, and while we had to leave the smallest turkey behind, the older turkeys had the experience of a lifetime. While we were there, we wanted to take the boys on an excursion they would enjoy, and sweet Moses did we get a lot of bang for our buck!
It was a lovely sunny morning when we walked to the end of the street to meet Leo, scheduler of the excursions. With a kind warm smile, Leo recommended the turtle-watching excursion. We looked at the picture, which had what seemed like dozens of sea turtles perched on rocks in the ocean, their shells glistening in the light of the moon. “Yours reminds me of my son at home [motioning to our middle son]. They will love it. We will take a stroll down to the beach, see some turtles. It will be great for them. We leave at 5:45. It is about a twenty minute drive, and then about an hour and a half on the beach.”
Great. Sounds perfectly and tamely adventurous. Sign us up, Leo!
He was a few minutes late to pick us up at our hotel, but they do run on Tico Time, so no worries. After a short, 45 minute drive (again, Tico Time), we somehow survived the dirt road that turned into what could only be described as a slightly cleared mountainous trail out to the beach.
When we arrived, Leo asked if we had bug spray. He had already instructed us to wear tennis shoes, so I figured the rocks to the glistening turtle shells might be a bit slippery. But bug spray? I don’t recall ever being attacked by bugs out on the beach. Strange. Then he handed us all flashlights, instructed us not to use them, and said he was going to scout out the turtles. Oh good, I thought. We will just wait right here in the dark alone until you come back. At this point, there was no turning back, but no worries, because dear Leo was back in moments. “Follow me! No flashlights!” We started walking (chasing) after him, and right before we got to a trail, he turned around, scooped up my child and said, “I’ll carry the baby. Follow me!” Trying to remain calm, (but also struggling to breathe) I recounted that Leo had given me no reason to believe he was not trustworthy. But he did have my child, and I only knew his first name, so I attempted to keep up with him as he nearly sprinted up the mountain. And I do not use the term mountain loosely. We hiked up a treacherous path (again, with no flashlights, only Leo’s infrared light) for what seemed like moments that would never end. We finally arrived, and I understood Leo’s provision of water and request for bug spray. We were in the brush of the Costa Rican jungle as he began explaining that we were going to be watching for turtles nesting to lay their eggs. Soon, we found ourselves crouched with some 15 other strangers from all over the world staring at the backside of a turtle, a few feet from where she was sweeping the sand away and digging her hole to lay her eggs. “She will get into a trance and lay at least 100 eggs in 5 minutes, but until then we must be very quiet because she is stressed. She is very stressed.”
Well, at this point, I have a few thoughts. Leo, honey, she isn’t the only one! I am very uncomfortably sitting with my 3 and 5 year old, a million miles from home two hours past bedtime, and you want me to keep my kids perfectly quiet? Also, something he said on the drive over began to play in my head. “Last night, I tried to hand one of the people a scorpion, but they wouldn’t take it.” Hold up! SCORPION?? So essentially, I am sitting in sand, in the dark, watching a turtle’s butt, and there might be a SCORPION crawling across my unassuming lap??
SIGH.
The Lord had mercy on us. Somehow. We sat for at least 45 minutes mere inches from the turtle until she decided that she was over it, and did not in fact lay her eggs. Over an hour later, after watching a mother dig relentlessly to make sure her hole was clean and neatly cleared of any trash or debris, we finally witness another turtle lay her eggs. On the way back up the beach, we managed to find some eggs that were hatching and got to usher some baby sea turtles back in to the ocean. And nearly four hours later, with my kids having behaved as what can only be described as miraculously angelic, we left the beach with a whole heck of a lot of life experience under our belt.
We learned a lot that night. It was one of the craziest and coolest things we’ve ever unknowingly taken our children to do. But one thing that Leo said kept resounding in my heart. “The turtles always, always come back to the place they were born.” They go out into the great big ocean, they meet new turtles, see new things, but they always come back to the place they were born.
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in they way he should go, and when he is old, he will not part from it.” I can’t help but think of my own children in comparison to the turtles. As parents, we have the opportunity to expose them to many things, we are responsible for providing the place where they will be born and grow, and the Lord promises that when they grow, they will always return to the place they are born. They will always return to the foundation they’ve been given. Today, maybe your turtles are out swimming in the ocean. Maybe you’re busy clearing your nest, in an effort to give your turtles the best opportunity for starting their life. Whatever situation you find yourself in today, know that the job you’ve been given is not to be taken lightly. Pray without ceasing, cling to the hope of the Father, and stand on His promises. They will always come back to the place they’ve been born…