A Scampering Tortoise

I found a scampering tortoise in the yard today.  Certainly, the adjective scamper does not seem to belong to the tortoise and its kin long known for being slow.  Most of us learned our first lesson about this shelled creature from the story about the race between the tortoise and the hare which teaches the lesson that slow can beat speed if it is steady and persistent.  So, when I reached down to pick up the tortoise to get him out of the way of the lawn mower, I was surprise at the speed with which he scampered away.  Finally, I snagged him and got him re-located in a safer place, but there was surely nothing slow about his escape plan!

 

All of God's creatures can speak a word to us and this scampering tortoise reminded me not to judge others by their appearances or my pre-conceived notions about them.  Everyone is different because God makes everyone different.  When one of us is made, the mold is cast aside.  But, it is not just the physical appearance that is different, but also the essence of who we are that makes us such a unique soul.  To look at others through any other lens is to look with blurred vision and little appreciation for the way each person is so wonderfully made.

 

So often we want others to fit into our own pre-conceived notions.  We do not always have the time or the desire to explore the things within another person which are surprising and unexpected.  Having others fit the mold we have made for them gives us a sense of being more in charge of our life and the lives of others than is ours to possess.   What God has always intended is for us to see that each one around us is His creation, the object of His love, and one unique to the Kingdom's work in the world.  The mold we make for others is much smaller and always puts us out of step with the plan of God for our life and the lives of others.