Those of you who know me well know that I am obsessed with turtles. I mean OBSESSED. This started about a year ago, and I don't know why. Funny, huh? But I love them. I love them so much when I went on a cruise earlier this year I saw turtle merchandise everywhere and went absolutely crazy. Picture the dogs on the movie "Up", all of a sudden yelling "Squirrel!" and looking off into the distance. That was me. And, ahem, it still is. Whenever I see something with a turtle, my attention deviates from whatever I am doing and from my lips the word "Turtle!" is thrust out, like my vocal cords have a will of their own. (Apologies to friends whom I've been in conversation with when this has occurred, I really was paying attention to you).

When people asked me why turtles top my favorites list over other creatures, I couldn't explain myself. I honestly didn't know why. If I have a strong attachment to something, it is because their is an emotional tie to it, like loving black cats because my family has had one of black Siamese-American short-hair, Lucky, for close to 17 years. So it was weird to feel such a strong connection with turtles-okay, this may be sounding cheesy, but keep going with me here-when I had no reason to adore them as much as I did.

Yesterday something happened that gave purpose to my love of and connection to this reptile.  It was a tender mercy of the Lord, Him showing me that He has always been there for me.

I saw my Fibro (Fibromyalgia) doc, Dr. Lucinda Bateman yesterday. She runs a Fibromyalgia Clinic that is all about empowering and supporting patients to continue forward with their efforts to manage their chronic pain and fatigue. They are experts in this field, and I am so blessed to be a patient there.

This was only my second visit and while there for my first visit a couple of months ago I had noticed lots of turtle pictures, figurines, anything and everything turtle. I thought my doctor must be a turtle-freak like me and left it at that. When I got there yesterday, I was taken to the back of the office where turtles adorned almost every wall and piece of furniture. My eyes were wide open, my jaw was dropped and I was so excited I yanked my phone out of my purse to take as many pictures of the arrangements as I could before Dr. Bateman came back to get me.

My eyes were drawn to a particular picture with the words, "A Steady Pace Wins the Race" and in my mind, wheels started to turn, something started to click. 

There are turtles everywhere, I thought.  Maybe this is their slogan, so to speak, because Fibro is so hard to treat and baby steps are what yield results.  Hmmmm...

As Dr. Bateman showed me into her office I said, "I just have to say how I love all the turtles you have around. I'm BIG on turtles." She smiled so wide it reached her eyes and said, "Turtles are our mascot. Do you know why? Because turtles move slowly and steadily, and they never give up. There is something about Fibro patients.  Our patients come to us, tired, worn and frustrated with their condition. Progress comes very slow, sometimes so slow it seems that they'll never feel better again.  But they are strong. Just like those turtles, they stay positive; they don't give up, they don't give in. We want them to know that we will never give up either."

The peace and warmth that filled my soul at those words was quiet and strong.  I consider this a divine signature, a tender mercy if there ever was one.  The last year of my strange obsession came full circle.  A love of turtles, a small, seemingly insignificant detail in my life was a detail that God knew. I felt this was a way He was telling me that I am in good hands with this new doctor and that He knows how strong I am. He knows I'm tough and what I can handle. 

I am very frustrated with the fact that I have to work so much harder at life than "normal" people just to feel physically good. I have 13 years of this malady to unravel, that's a BIG thing to take on. I'm inpatient and want to rush my healing along. Others often don't understand that I can't live at the pace that most others do because it'll prevent me from getting better. I wonder if I'll ever be able to "catch up" my body to feeling well again. The things I have to do in this race are really, really hard. I know that Heavenly Father was telling me that I can do this. I can keep going, I can win this race. I have turtle power!

My love of turtles has a very real purpose. We were meant to go together, like birds of a feather. Turtles are my mascot, because I am like them, although I want things to happen a lot faster or now. I never fully give up, and I make progress by sticking my neck out, looking for the sunlight through the clouds. And I'll keep doing it, until I finish the race. I hope you will too :)