Are Turtles in Charge of Your Life

Rusty Walton is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but has been a proud Texan for more than forty years. He and his wife, Brenda, currently make their home in Conroe, Texas, after serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Conroe for nearly fifteen years. In retirement, Rusty has served seven Texas churches as an Intentional Interim pastor, assisting those churches to prepare for a successful newly “installed” minister. Additionally, Rusty and Brenda enjoy their two children, son and daughter-in-law, and five grandchildren, one of whom is a proud Texas Aggie. (Whoop!)

When writer and Presbyterian minister Bob Lively was a boy he was told that if a snapping turtle grabbed your toe he wouldn’t let go until it thundered. When you’re a child you just accept such “facts” as being true, so it’s no wonder Bob developed a fear of turtles. A snapping turtle’s bite would be excruciatingly painful, he imagined. Unlike a wasp sting that could be fixed with a little baking soda and a mother’s hug, a turtle would hang on until it thundered. He envisioned sitting in a barber’s chair getting a haircut with a turtle hanging off his big toe. Or even limping into church on Sunday morning while all the good Presbyterians scowled at the sight of a boy dragging a snapping turtle down the aisle. Until I was in the sixth grade I seldom wore shoes, not even to school. I was told the same story about turtles Bob was told, and I believed it too. In fact, the first sermon I remember preaching was about snapping turtles, a message to my little brother about keeping his unprotected toes out of the mouths of turtles. I knew more about turtles than I knew about Jesus, so I preached what I knew. Going barefoot around Jesus seemed a good deal safer than going barefoot around turtles. Besides, I was fairly sure Jesus wanted my heart, not my toes. My boyhood home in Louisiana was in a neighborhood that seemed filled with turtles. Though I pretended to be brave, I was afraid I’d end up having to explain to my parents why I ignored their warnings about snapping turtles. I could imagine dragging an angry turtle around on my toe everywhere I went, so I stayed well clear of turtles. I suppose you could say that for a few years turtles were in charge of my life, at least to the extent that I allowed the fear of turtles rule over me. I’m no longer a boy, so I’m not afraid of turtles any more. The truth, though, is that I still can let other fears and anxieties have too much say about how I live my life. There are other kinds of “turtles”, and if we are not careful we will let them be in charge of way too much. Fears of all kinds can dominate everything we do. The interesting thing about these other kinds of turtles is that we may be unaware that they are present in our lives. Through the years we may have allowed ourselves to become fearful, angry, resentful, impatient, or unkind without being aware that these “turtles” have latched on to us, and we are dragging them around with us everywhere we go. Other folks see them clearly, but these turtles, invisible to us, are affecting every part of our lives, and not in a good way. Maybe it’s time to hear it thunder and let these turtles go. Turtles were never meant to be in charge of our lives (Psalm 8:6-9). Thanks for reading. CDW

Are Turtles

In Charge of Your Life?

Reproduction only by permission

Hope you have a great day, and remember that the living is good where the people are good. And the people are good in Burleson County.

Chuckles, Giggles & Snickers

This is the true story of George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi, who was going to bed when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the shed. George opened the door to go turn off the light but saw there were people in the shed in the process of stealing things.

He immediately phoned the police, who asked, “Is someone in your house?” and George said, “No,” and explained the situation. Then they explained that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be there when available.

George said, “Okay,” hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again.

“Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now because I’ve just shot them all.”

Then he hung up. Within five minutes three squad cars, an Armed Response unit, and an ambulance showed up. Of course, the police caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the policemen said to George, “I thought you said that you’d shot them!”

George said, “I thought you said there was nobody available!”