“How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” Psalm 84:1-31<<To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.>> How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! 2My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 3Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. (Psalm 84:1‑3)
Late summer is nesting season for the sea turtles on the Florida coast. Up and down the beach the telltale paths of the sea turtles mark the sand as the turtles lumber out of the water, dig their nest, lay their eggs, and return to the water. Each day there are fresh marks on the beach, and it is interesting how much data is gathered from the etched paths. Park officials are trained to recognize the variety of turtle and the approximate age of the turtle by their marks on the beach. The officials date the nest and keep track of all pertinent details. They obtain all this information without ever seeing the mother turtle who laid the eggs.
My unofficial interpretation of the turtle marks is that they remind me of different types of mothers. There is the sea turtle who, coming out of the water and unsuccessfully attempting to climb the first sand dune, backs off from the effort and mistakenly makes her nest below the high tide level. The park officials don’t even date this nest because they know that the high tide will erode away the nest before the eggs have time to hatch. Then there is the sea turtle whose efforts to traverse the first dune are not successful, but instead of giving up, she turns down the beach to another point and tries again to traverse the dune. The marks in the sand clearly tell of her struggle. Her determination pays off and she is able to rise above the high tide mark and dig her nest. Other sea turtle tracks show clearly a turtle who climbed over the first sand dune and the second sand dune, all the way to the top of the beach. At first this seems wise, but it also brings risks. When the babies hatch they will have a long defenseless journey and will be an easy target for the sea gulls, who love the taste of baby sea turtles.
Like the first unwise sea turtle, some mothers do not order their homes in such a way as to keep a marked separation from the world. The “high tide” of the influences of the world will erode away at this family. It is a struggle to keep the world out of our homes and to arrange our “nest” in such a way as to provide a sanctuary from the world where principles of the Word of God are taught and the love of God is known and enjoyed by all in the home, but it is worth it. Diligence of faith and an appreciation of the grace of God can guide a home to rise above the “high tide” level of the world. The turtle who laid her eggs far from the water reminds me of some mothers who, in their desire to keep the world out of their home, detach from the reality that one day their little ones will have to face the world. It is not our physical distance from the world which will preserve our children in the path of faith. Rather, it is our proximity to the Person of Christ. Baby sea turtles when they are born orient themselves to the light. May we provide our children a sanctuary from the world and guide them to the Light and to a living relationship with our Lord.