In Search of Sea Turtles

I just got back from a trip to Hawaii. I know, I know…rough life. We stayed with my sister and had a blast. We hiked, swam, and walked Waikiki. AND we saw sea turtles. We looked for sea turtles. We discussed where one can see sea turtles. We drove all the way to North Shore to see sea turtles that hall themselves up on the sand to warm up and dry off. We stood for about fifteen minutes staring at this big sea turtle just laying on the beach. Water came up and washed over him. He just laid there barely moving. My sister took tons of pictures. Not that the turtle changed positions or even bothered moving his head. He just laid there, this dark circular mound on the shore. But the excitement to see this guy. When my husband went out paddleboarding, he came back with tales of spotting a sea turtle while out there. When you spot a sea turtle it’s like sinking a 3 point shot in a close basketball game. It’s like winning the sea turtle lottery. You are dubbed amazing if you spot one. You gain major bragging rights. Why all this excitement?

Well we don’t see sea turtles everyday. Here is one of God’s creatures. One of millions, God designed on the 6th day of creation. This slow moving greenish creature that swims in the ocean. All this excitement to see a simple creature of God’s creation. I started thinking about heaven. If we are so excited to see a sea turtle, imagine what it will be like to see heaven? Imagine. We have a few descriptions God’s given us: a gate made out of gargantuan pearls, a crystal clear river running through it, streets of gold…They just put new asphalt on my parking lot. They think that looks pretty and new. I’m not impressed. WE’RE talking STREETS of GOLD, PEOPLE! Imagine that.

As I look around the world today, there is beauty to behold. There are sunsets, ocean views, animals, trees, snow capped mountains, blue skies, and babies, to name a few. I just can’t seem to picture heaven. I only have what John described in the book of Revelation, but that’s all I have. My mind can’t seem to grasp it. Of course, I’ve never been there. I can’t wait for the day I do see heaven. I long for it. I just can’t seem to picture it.

I remember when I was in high school and I worked at the local grocery store. There was this college guy who had come up to work at the store for the summer. One day we just so happened to be in the same aisle and chatting. I can’t remember how it started, but we got on the topic of heaven. I said I was a Christian and was going to heaven after I die. He looked at me and laughed loudly. He asked me why in the world did I want to go to heaven, where everyone floats on a cloud and plays a harp? I was taken back by this sad description of heaven. Where in the world did he get his idea about heaven from? A cartoon? Or, some kid’s book? He said that he couldn’t think of anything more boring than that. He said he was an atheist, but if there were a heaven or hell, he’d much rather go to hell and party with his friends. Heaven was just too boring. I had never heard anyone speak about heaven that way. I was too young and not versed enough to counteract his “most excellent argument about heaven.”

I would have more to say to him now. I would have told him about the sea turtle. I would have told him how God created the sea turtle and people flock to see this creature. God made him and we are fascinated to see it. God made you. God made clouds. God made man who made things like harps. Look around at the world you live in. God made all of it. He made man in HIS image. He made man with the capacity to love, think, celebrate, laugh, invent. God made heaven. It is God’s place of residence. Heaven will never be boring. We have a tiny, partial picture of what it will be like. Floating on a cloud, playing a harp is not God’s idea of heaven. Now hell on the other hand…the absence of God…eternal separation from our creator…I really don’t think you want that.