The Turtle Walk
Disclaimer:Nothing in this blog post is intended to be considered medical or mental health advice or treatment. It’s written from the perspective of the author’s lived experience and reflects personal views expressed with the intent to encourage and share hope.
When the walk slows down to a crawl that feels more like turtle steps, will we stay joyful and focused on God instead of the discomfort of the unknown?
I’ve been alive for well over forty years. Thankfully, I’ve also been able to walk for about as many. There was that brief period of time when I was still a crawling baby, and the time I was partially paralyzed on the left side in 2014. There were times I experienced minor bone breaks and arthritic responses. I still walk though.
Excluding those times, I’ve been physically able to walk—and sprint—however fast I want. This does not mean I should be in the Olympics, so no…don’t put me in, coach. I just like to walk or explore, and can easily walk too far ahead of others.
There are literally hundreds of old stories of me speed walking into, past, away from, or toward something and not noticing everything around me, but before someone picks me to attack because I sound like the perfect target, I think they should know I do keep way better track of my surroundings now and God goes with me.
Speeding ahead with excitement reminds me of the time I briskly walked into a cave at a large national park while visiting with family when I was 13. I didn’t realize my family wasn’t walking just as excitedly behind me, and I turned around in the first cavern and saw strangers along the walkway. After that happened, once my family caught up, I started waiting for everyone when they kept stopping or were not ready to walk again. They were not thrilled , and I don’t blame them. I could have handled losing enthusiasm and patience much better than by starting to lag, believing that I could just run and catch up as needed.
Maybe you can somewhat relate, even if you’re way older than 13 and don’t particularly like to walk briskly, run, or sprint.
So often in life, we want to run ahead. We know something beautiful or amazing is up ahead, but we sometimes need to slow down and wait—for others to catch up with us, for everything else to fall into place, for the movement of the Holy Spirit…for ourselves to grow and learn.
Aren’t they excited to experience this? we may think, when we see others standing around chit-chatting.
Forgetting that others might think the same of me at times when they are in charge, as I start lagging because my body or mind needs to slow down for a bit.
See…sometimes I am the one everyone else is waiting for. Sometimes…the clock is ticking; it’s almost time to clock out or go home.
All the other tasks are complete, or all the other tests are turned in, and I am still going as though I didn’t keep track of time…although I did.
Sometimes I’m missing out on the conversations the others are having, and maybe they aren’t interested in why we’re there, but they are bonding.
Perhaps you have experienced something similar?
It may be comforting to know that God is not looking at us with impatience or wondering why He chose us. He looks at us with love, extends His grace and patience, and has wisdom to offer us whether we are waiting for the others to catch up…or we are just plain stumped and don’t know what to do.
Our walk with God is not one to take for granted in the way we might take for granted our literal ability to walk.
I’ve been thankful for the opportunity to re-establish good health, jump back into life with enthusiasm and joy, and let myself be used to point people to Jesus.
As I continued to do this, it became one of my goals to be mindful that I didn’t become like a cautionary tale about a hare who sat down to take a nap (or, like in my alternate story-time version, go exploring other places and forget about the original goal!)
I also want to keep my heart so filled with the goodness God gives us that I walk in sync with others as much as possible when we go forward together. He loves us, and we are meant to love our brethren similarly. We are meant to love everyone and bear with them in all things.
As it is beautifully stated in Ephesians 4:2 (TPT): “With tender humility and quiet patience, always demonstrate gentleness and generous love toward one another, especially toward those who may try your patience.”
Think about that.
If we are demonstrating gentleness and generous love toward one another, we are not going to exhibit prideful impatience or take off exploring and wait for others to catch up. We will stick with those God has sent to be in our lives and be blessings, not stressings. We may join them in prayer if, after we get into a conversation about what is going on, it goes beyond the present moment.
We can extend this same grace to ourselves instead of permitting ourselves to feel overloaded with impatience or anything else that God is not feeling about us in any given moment.
We will keep walking with joy in the Lord who has such great joy when it comes to us!
A turtle can walk super fast when necessary.
Necessity is the key factor, though. Turtles typically don’t have a daily need to run at full speed ahead the entire day.
One day, I was made aware that my walk is a little different from how it used to be, but unless I am tired, at least I can still go fast.
It just…looks really funny…to some onlookers.
Other times, when I am tired, one leg feels a certain way, the other leg feels a different way, and my lower back feels even differently…. I do find myself plodding more like a turtle.
To be honest, I am thankful that I can walk, so I don’t want to speak down about how it looks or feels.
This got me curious about how turtles walk, though.
I’ve read that they can walk at speeds between 3-4 miles per hour, which is about on par with us when we are speedwalking. Normally, they go less than 1 mile per hour.
The real superpower of a turtle is how they manage to get anywhere at all when they walk so slowly.
They are uniquely created to achieve their goals.
So are we!
Like turtles, we don’t always need to be zooming toward our next destinations with the nerve of an Olympian.
We are often trying to rush and get ahead, but sometimes we need to slow down, and then we will eventually have the stamina and wisdom we need to go much farther.
Jesus can use whatever we are walking through to strengthen and uplift us so that we grow and experience transformation that only could come from Him.
Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV) says, “Fear not….”
Multiple times in the Bible, we can find instances of our Father’s provision of all things–including wisdom.
We can experience it through Bible study, prayer time, private meditation time, small group sessions, church, and more.
It doesn’t have to be fancy or perfectly structured.
It can be so encouraging to form specific routines and activities that help us learn more about what God tells us through the scriptures and the Holy Spirit.
When we know what to expect, we can start to expect it.
When we start to expect it, we may start to experience it.
When we start to experience it, we start to change from the inside out.
What if we ask Jesus how to walk with Him when we are stuck? What if we tell Him we need Him when we are hurt or when we feel alone?
Let’s speak to the One who knows all too well what it’s like, and then some. After all, He walked all over mountains and slowed down often to stop and speak with someone in need. He also did not have an easy walk to the cross. Jesus had every right to become impatient as He put one foot in front of the other with the heaviness of the cross pressing into his shoulder and back as he followed the guards on the hill of Golgotha.
But He endured.
When we find ourselves or others going more slowly than we had hoped, then we can be more like Jesus in those moments. There is victory to be found in those moments, and that means we can rejoice.
Reflection
Where in your life do you need to keep going, even if your legs and feet start to feel more like those of a turtle, and your back feels like a hard shell to retreat into?
What verses can you find to remind you of God’s truth about a situation?
God cares deeply for you. Just keep walking with the One who is the Author of all our stories. Better chapters await each one of us!
Prayer
Thank You, Father, for Your guidance and grace. Thank You that You know all there is to know about every step of our walks, and every place we are called to go, and for being with us in everything that we are going to do. There is nothing You have missed, and that includes even the smallest of details. In Your wisdom, You have created all things to reflect Your image and to work toward Your purpose, and You choose the foolish things to teach the wise. May we exercise patience and wisdom in our lives with You, Lord, and find joy in all that we do, big or small. If we falter or start to doubt, please remind us of Your gentle and generous heart for us. We bless Your name and ask that Your will be above ours in all of this. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Closing Thoughts
Sometimes the walk slows down, and that does not mean we have failed. It may simply mean we are learning to move with more patience, more wisdom, and more dependence on God.
Whether we are waiting on others, learning to slow ourselves down, or taking the next step with tired feet, we are not walking alone. Jesus knows how to walk with purpose, how to pause with compassion, and how to endure when the road is difficult.
So may we keep walking with Him—joyful, steady, and willing to grow—even when the steps feel small. The pace may change, but God’s faithfulness does not.
