Four years ago, I took my granddaughters over to my daughter's house to swim. While looking in the pool filter drain, we found a tiny Red-eared Slider paddling around in circles. The girls were elated. "Can we keep him? Please, Grama; please." My first thought was, of course. Hubby had some misgivings, but 8 year-old Brooklyn was so excited, it didn't take much to bend Grampa our way.
We found Snappy the year after my granddaughter had lost her daddy. When she begged to keep the turtle, I thought of what my son would have done had he been there. He would have gone to the pet store, gotten the best of turtle-homes, the right food and taught his little girl how to care for the turtle. So that's what I did. And Brooklyn took Snappy home to live at her house.
One day, Brooklyn called and told me she'd lost Snappy. They'd been playing with him and left him on the bed when they went to eat supper. When Brooklyn returned, she couldn't find Snappy. She was crying. She thought her dog had eaten him. They looked high and low for Snappy to no avail. I felt so bad for her. She'd taken such good care of the turtle for months. To some this would be a silly thing, to worry over a turtle. But a child's pet is important to them. Brooklyn was also mad at herself for leaving Snappy on the bed and not putting him back in his bowl. She blamed herself for his loss.
I assured her that I didn't think Ali (her chihuahau), could have eaten Snappy. "He's probably hiding somewhere." He was only the size of a quarter and would be easily missed on her dark brown carpet. She couldn't grasp that in light of Snappy's absence. "But we've looked everywhere." I told her I'd pray for her. A little while later, she called me back. She was so excited. "Grama, I prayed for God to help us find Snappy and about two minutes later, Mommy found him under the bed in the corner. God helped us find him. He answered my prayer."
I couldn't tell what excited her more--the fact that God answered her prayer or that Snappy was safe. Today, when Brooklyn holds that quarter-sized Snappy in her palm, he completely covers it. He has grown 4 times the size. Occasionally Brooklyn will remind me of that story. God has faithfully grown Brooklyn's faith time and time again through the years since He answered her prayer. Snappy is just a tiny bit of visible proof for her to hold in the middle of daily difficulties. Maybe God planned it that way from the moment we rescued Snappy from the pool drain. Who is to say? selahV
