Ooh, I Love Turtles

                                                              Turtles, Turtles, Rah, Rah, Rah

Are you old enough to remember the lengthy ad campaign which extolled the tasty virtues of the Turtles confection. Pecans and caramel dipped in chocolate, shaped like a turtle -- what's not to like? The ads used a rather bizarre combination of caricatured turtles in top hats, tails, and monocles alongside femme fatale women  crooning "ooh, I love Turtles." 

Earlier this week marked World Turtle Day and I pay attention because, well, I have a strange affection for turtles. We see them a lot when we paddle in our neck of the woods, and on various waterside walks. Happily, there are a bunch of different species including Snapping, Painted and the threatened Blandings turtles. We saw a lunker of a snapping turtle, up close and personal, while on a marsh boardwalk with two of our grandchildren recently. As I mentioned before, it was something of an "I-thou" moment as it looked up at the grandchild who'd requested a turtle quest. 

Each year I note that in different Indigenous cultures the planet is referred to as Turtle Island, which suggests a living, sentient being. We have been inclined to treat our planetary home as though it was a resource to be recklessly exploited rather than the provision of the Creator for all living creatures. Too often Christianity has been complicit in this disastrous worldview, even though scripture invites us to be stewards of and companions in Creation. 

We "turn turtle" (crummy expression, really) at our peril when it comes to the practical and spiritual responsibility to care for the Earth. I'm not suggesting we become pantheists, just faithful Christians. I appreciate the icon of Kateri Tekakwitha by Robert Lentz which honours her as a symbol of ecological balance.  

I have our collapsible shovel in our vehicle, at the ready to help a turtle across the road, should I encounter one. I want them to flourish because they are remarkable creatures, but also because they represent an important member of the marvelous web of Creation. 

Shouldn't everyone love turtles? 

                                                     Kateri Tekakwitha, Algonquin Mohawk IroquoisSaint