No Tub No Turtis

Yesterday on my way to work out a  crazy thing happened. I turned left onto the same road I travel daily to get to work, the store, church. As I rounded the corner, I noticed a small round something creeping across the road. I slowed down and rolled up to it. As I neared the creature I discovered a dry, gray turtle.

When my children were growing up, we had a turtle. His name was Turtis. We found him one afternoon and quickly adopted the cute little reptile. He lived in a tub in our game room. The kids would feed and water him, take him out to play, and truly loved the little animal. His home, the container, was the perfect size for the kids to carry him in or out, upstairs or downstairs, safely wherever they were going.

One afternoon I cleaned out the garage. It was one of those days when everything was going in the trash. I was tired of so much junk taking up space and if we had not used it in about a week, I was throwing it away. Turtis, in his tub, was in the garage with me keeping me company while I "restructured." I was getting ready to sweep and decided to place his little makeshift home outside the garage around the corner near the trashcan so I wouldn't sophacate him with dust.

With much success and satisfaction, I finished my cleaning project for the day and headed inside to cook dinner. The meal was great and while cleaning up the kitchen, I noticed the trash men outside removing all the junk and clutter I collected.  I was so happy to see them drive off with all of our trash. About that time the children came running downstairs.

"Where's Turtis?" they cried. "We want to play with him."
"Is he in the gameroom?" I asked.
"No ma'am," I heard the little voice shout.

I paused to think where I had last seen Turtis. As I dried my hands on an old dish towel, my stomach dropped. Turtis was outside by the trash can. I looked out the kitchen window. No tub, no little home for Turtis, actually, no Turtis.

I sprinted outside and stood dumbfounded looking at where Turtis had been resting peacefully in his container while I swept. I ran to the end of the driveway, looked both ways. No trash truck to be found.

I hollered for the kids to jump in Big Mac, our suburban. They quickly buckled up and I sped out of the driveway on the hunt for our little Turtle. We rounded the end of the street when we saw it, the most beautiful trash truck I had ever seen. In my mind the filthy vehicle was perfectly white glowing with bright golden lights. I could see angels floating around it and here the sweet songs of heaven playing from the most disgusting pile of trash I ever smelled. Turtis was saved!

We relayed our story in complete desperation to the driver of the truck. The most kind trash man moved by our fear and worry graciously opened the back of the truck. After we all nearly passed out from the odor, we looked. There was no way one of us had the nerve to touch the trash. The driver's two other friends reached in with their gloves and began to shovel through the mess. Finally, after what felt like eternity, we saw it! Turtis' home, all in one piece, resting neatly amongst the trash. One of the gentlemen picked up the tub and handed it gently to us. We were elated. One of the children reached inside to pull out our precious treasure and the look on her face said it all. We had the tub but no the turtle. Turtis was gone. We all stood staring into the pile of banana peels, diapers, paper, and more. Turtis was somewhere in the trash. There was no way to find him, no way to get our sweet little Turtis back.

We slowly walked back to the car after thanking the trashmen profusely. Silence filled the air. Tears began to fall. I drove slowly back to the house. The words then came, "Mom, why did you put Turtis out by the trash?"

It seemed so harmless. A random act in the middle of decluttering and cleaning out that changed our little lives forever. After baths, many tears and repeated apologies, we all resigned to the fact that God was with Turtis. Even in the trash, God was there. God created Turtis. We believe God loved Turtis and God would take care of our precious little turtle.

I thought about my life. How many times have I felt stuck in the middle of a trash pile. Are you caught in the middle of a pile of banana peels, diapers, paper, and more? Does everything around you seem to stink to high heaven? Do you feel alone in the middle of dispair? Are you wondering why someone left you sitting out by the garbage and now here you are in a mess?

It's okay! We know God was with Turtis and we know God is with you. He loves you. He created you. No matter where you are. No matter what you are doing. God sees. God knows and God saves. Talk to Jesus today about your trash pile.