A while back, Tisha and I met the Gappas at the Heard Museum to spend some time together. We talked as we walked the trails, carving our way deep into the wetland area. In that area, the pathway is a bridge made by local Boy Scouts. As we walked along the bridge, we noted more turtles than we could count. Many were perched in clusters on ubiquitous logs. There they silently sat.

The ones closest to us, as we passed by, would normally hide inside their carapaces. Those shells are a means of protection and safety for turtles, essential for their survival. I chuckled as we passed by, thinking, “Why are they afraid of us? We can’t hurt them.”

Like turtles, we often find ourselves retreating into our own protective shells as we come across our own passers by, many of whom have never done anything to us. It’s understandable to respond like that when there is a history, but it seems odd that such would happen when there is no particular history. Life’s experiences, though, often spill over and sometimes it becomes difficult to see which is which. But may we never forget the words of the Hebrews writer, who quotes God’s words to Joshua, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5), so that we can confidently say with the Psalmist, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6; Hebrews 13:6).