Our condo overlooks the Grand River, with a view that never ceases to amaze me. With coffee and Bible, I greet the early morning from our balcony with the same freshness and expectancy that each day brings. The serenity of the moment is often punctuated by fish dancing across the surface waters, ducks seeking out their morning breakfast and red-wing blackbirds filling the air beneath me.

In particular I watch one turtle as it slowly makes its way in the waters beneath the balcony. For some time I thought it simply an object in the water, like a piece of wood, except it moved against the current and not with it. Slowly, with head barely breaking the surface and body submerged beneath, it crawled its way along. At times, it dove to points unseen by the naked eye. Most often it frolicked in the warm waters, if ever a turtle could be thought of as frolicking.

And then it hit me. A lesson from nature

There are times when I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water. Sometimes it seems like the waves wash over me, pushing and pulling, as the currents of life want to drag me to places I would rather not go. Tossed and bounced around I find myself struggling, as fatigue settles in. In those moments I feel spent.

And yet

My turtle friend doesn’t live in those fast moving currents. When caught he moves to calmer waters. When tired, he simply rests in the buoyancy of the waters, head up with gently paddling of feet.

Learn from the turtle

When feeling overwhelmed, find those places of calm, where there is rest for your soul. Keep your head up. Move at your pace. Find your own rhythm and rest. You will be glad you did!