Photo by Gary Peeples, USFWS
Bog Turtle
Bog Turtles are the smallest turtles in Connecticut. Adults reach no more than 4.5 inches long. Some bog turtles live longer than 60 years in the wild. They are listed as an endangered species due to threats to their wetland habitats and illegal keeping as pets.
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What do you love about this particular creature?
What do they reveal to you about God and our faith?
I wonder how many times I’ve walked by a Bog Turtle and not seen it?
Something so small, living its life as a beloved creature of God to its fullest. This creature, critical to the health and balance of its environment, does its work simply by being what it is God created it to be. It does not seek to be the greatest, the biggest, nor the flashiest; just the complete fulfillment of God’s purposes for its life. Nothing more, and nothing less. I imagine Jesus, walking by the shore of the wetland, noticing the bog turtle (and Jesus would notice), and assuring us that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, and a sense of God’s purpose for our lives the size of a bog turtle, that would be enough.
Author - The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Mello
Bishop Mello is the Bishop Diocesan serving the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. He lives in Wethersfield, Red Onion capital of the world.
Creator of all things, big and small, you show us the greatness of your love for all of creation in the smallness of the Bog Turtle. Help us to see and notice the beauty and diversity of your creation, that we might see in it your care and love for even the least of these, and extend that same love to the world. All this we ask in the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.