Turtles Schmurtles

Today I went to Eagle Creek Park to spend some quality time with God. I took a trail I've never been on before and headed out with my Bible and a bottle of water. I really wish I would have brought my camera to capture some of the things I saw, but I'm sure they'll still be there in a few days or a week. I was finishing up my quiet time and decided to go ahead further on the trail I was on. So I went and I was taken to a small strip of land that was surrounded by the resevoir on both sides, and people were fishing there. I told God that it would be really sweet if I could see a turtle, because I really like their shells and how they are like a living tank, kind of. I saw some ducks on the way, too. I like them very much, because they're the all-terrain animal: land, air, and water. They're living boats!

So as I was walking, I was stopped suddenly in my tracks by the shrill call of a red-winged blackbird. I have never been so close to one, only five feet away from it perched in a tree. It ruffled its feathers and screamed at me, as if it were nature's fire alarm. I was awe-struck because I loved the contrast of the straight black feathers and the adornment of the red splotch on each wing, undercut by a small stripe of yellow. It was very beautiful. Then it flew away and I followed it for awhile until I lost it.

I was walking back to my car, and I saw two birds "flirting" in the air just to my left. They looked like buzzing, birding flames of energy and immediately captured my attention. They both stopped and perched, and what I saw was a dark counterpart soufflé'd with historically vibrant, electric, deep orange. It resembled the form of a swallow, but with most of the coloring of an oriole or american redstart. Truth-be-told, it reminded me of a descendant of a phoenix, because it just had a glowing presence. 

Needless to say, I never saw a turtle today. But what I saw was much, much better. It really blew me away: how magnificent the animal world is, and fascinating to boot! It reminded me, too, that the things I ask God for usually are temporary and subject to my limited expectations. But the things that God has in store are much greater than I could ever imagine, and in this case, were subject only to the marvelous beauty of His creation.