mike

This is fantastic!

Talk about God given opportunities to do good deeds?

I was bicycling along the local rustic bike trail the other day. Just floating along, not in any rush, you know; just drifting through the summer air on my two-wheeler.

Oh, people were zipping by me, some saying "move aside!" or "look where you're going!". Those are people who have a place to go and a timeframe to do it. Somebody forgot to tell them that the trail starts from nowhere and goes nowhere.

There was also a family that cruised by me and kindly said "Hello". A forty something mother, happy to be out, and a father trying to lead the group took up front and rear. The son appeared to be about nine years old full of freckles and the daughter about seven years old with golden hair whirling around her thoughts.

As we all know, it is the leisure man who finds roadside treasures and that is exactly what happened to me in mid-day. What do you think I found? Would you believe I found a small, live painted turtle in the middle of the path looking quite disoriented and confused.

"Oh, my goodness!" I exclaimed, and quickly picked up the poor creature. "Where is your momma?" I asked. To my utter amazement, it pointed it's head down the path - in the direction of the young family I had seen go by there just an hour before.

"My God!" I thought, "this little turtle is trying to tell me that it is in the care of that young boy." I secured the turtle to the handlebars with a bungee cord where I could see it and keep it safe and sped down the trail.

About four miles down the path, I came across the bicycles of the family. Their bicycles were strewn about beside the path and I could see the family playing near a creek about 300 yards or so away.

Rather than startling them, I wondered if there was not a way I could return this turtle to them in a fun and mysterious way. As God had helped me save this turtle, so did he provide me with the solution as to how to return the turtle to the family.

You see, the mother's windbreaker was draped across her handlebars. Taking this opportunity, I quickly slipped the turtle with all it's vitality into the mother’s pocket and zipped it shut. Then, I mounted my bike and sped away thinking of the delightful reunion when the mother finds the turtle and gives it to the boy.

God works in mysterious and wonderful ways.