On the way to work I see a turtle halfway across Dudley Road hill. There’s no safe place for me to pull off and safely move him to the other side. At that hour with so many cars I might cause more harm than good. His outstretched neck on the double yellow line haunts me as I blink my lights at oncoming traffic.
Then on the expressway onramp I see a similar turtle crossing with head held high. What in the world? Two within one mile? Neither I can help safely. I pray for their protection.
I think of those two turtles for days.
Today I ponder the two perspectives in my marriage. On selfish days I wonder if Hubby can possibly see or care about my inner struggles. I only need his encouragement and an atta girl once in a while (ok, every 1.5 days please) to keep going. I’m “fine”. Everything is fine.
On less selfish days I ponder what life is like from his perspective. I may never know completely what ALS muscle loss feels like, his struggle to walk, or the occasional cognitive glitch. How frustrating it must be.
We have opposite personalities to begin with so perspective sharing has long been a challenge. Of the many things I’ve learned from two opposite wired brains over the years, I am certain there are at least two ways to do most tasks and both can feel like the right way at the moment until one considers the other person’s point of view. Many of our brief spats involve arguing the exact same point from different angles.
“You’re saying the same thing.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Ok.”
What I hold onto year after year is that God’s love is greater and more fulfilling than any love I might find or desire on earth.
We are lucky. We choose Jesus to be at the center, our Translator In Chief. Time after time our hearts soften and we hear one another eventually.
I saw this on a Lysa Terkuerst Instagram story post: “If lesser love ever fulfilled us, then we would have no need for God.”
So true.
We are all turtles daring to cross the road.
Romans 15:13 NIV: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Glenna S. Edwards 