What a wonderful birthday surprise to see my old tortoise friend Timothy plodding along the outer pasture fence. I was having lunch in the sun-room when I spotted his high-topped dome shell slowly moving in the sunshine. I grabbed my camera and went out to welcome him. He'd been missing ever since the hurricanes last fall. His timely appearance was the answer to a prayer as I could see he was doing well and hadn't moved on to greener pastures.
But there he was, big and beautiful, enjoying the day, methodically plodding along, slow and steady, stopping to eat blades of grass for lunch. From a distance, I watched him try to squeeze his big shell through the narrow openings in the wire fence and return home inside the pasture.
But that wasn't going to happen. "You can dig down under the fence with your shovel toes," I reminded him. Tortoises can dig up to 16 feet... This would be a piece of cake. But Timothy was not in the mood and plodded along by the fence in search of an opening. I knew he would find a way, and let him be, thanking him for my birthday gift.
I later learned that when a tortoise appears, we have usually been going through many changes and many burdens, and though it may not appear so, now the dawn is slowly approaching. So carry on by moving along and facing things steadily and slowly in our endeavors. Though the responsibilities have been great, we will succeed in time. A wonderful message of hope.
You can see a clip of Timothy in action on the angels for you website link at the bottom of your email.
Have a joyful day...and remember you are never truly alone. All is well. For he has given his angels charge over you... Slow and steady wins the race.
Love and peace,
Rae Karen
(Tortoise ref: Ted Andrews, Animal-Wise)
