So…I just saw a turtle cross the road. Well…actually he was attempting to cross the road. He was still in the other lane.

Fascinating thing about turtles crossing the road: no one every questions their motives. Chickens? They get their motives questioned all the time. Turtles? It’s less about why the turtle crossed the road and more about ‘do you thing he’ll make it?’

As I get older I think I have more in common with the turtles than the chickens. Chickens kinda dart here and there, rather self-serving…looking for something to eat. Turtles? If you see a turtle headed somewhere…you can bet he or she have somewhere particular in mind.

Truth be told though…what I really have in common with turtles is their shell. If you follow the creation story and believe that God did it all, then for some reason God gave turtles a shell. It’s clearly a protective measure. Untold turtle tragedies have been averted because they have the ability to just retreat into their shell and wait for the threat to get bored and just go away. It’s as if the turtle says…”alrighty then…I’m going to go into my shell for a while…and when you go away, I’ll be back!”

I think I find I’m a turtle when it comes to that. I’m not sure why. I don’t know if it’s a simple defense mechanism born of years and years of personal attacks in leadership and or ministry. Or perceived threats, as in “I don’t know if you’re safe…so until I know, I’m going to just peek at you from within my shell. Or maybe…I’m just a shell kind of person.

The hard part about living in a shell is that it tends to separate you a bit from those around you. As Henley wrote, “seems like every form of refuge has it’s price”. I happen to think that Jesus creates in us a heart that enables us to be brave and trusting and to venture out of our shell. And even to help other shell dwellers to venture out as well.

When we think of safety as a value in our church, that’s what we mean…those who feel locked up in their shells can stick their heads out and experience safety…a place where judgment is withheld, where love abounds, and all us shell dwellers can abandon our shells in the context of biblical community.