See the turtle?

It was on the beach when we arrived. A little later some kids, maybe 6 and 4 years old, came by to admire it. Suddenly, they started stepping on it. I asked them not to, but they didn't listen, and rapidly destroyed it completely. Before I could figure out what to say to them, their mother came a long with her camera to photograph the (now gone) turtle. She expressed her displeasure in no uncertain terms and the whole family moved along, leaving me to rebuild.

I am used to kids' sometimes destructive tendencies. Many a block tower has tumbled in our home! But somehow, this action bothered me. Maybe it's because turtles are an important symbol to me (the book Old Turtle is a beloved source of theological wisdom), or maybe it's because living turtles are so precious, or maybe it's just because I asked the kids not to destroy it and they paid me no attention whatsoever.

In any case, the destruction provided the opportunity to rebuild, and I had a wonderful time re-sculpting the turtle with my own hands.

And what does this story have to do with seeing? I saw this photo as I was browsing my photo library for an image to go with yesterday's post, and I knew right away it was my "See" image. Maybe it's because it's a little hard to see the turtle. Or maybe it's because there is a larger story behind what is seen. Or maybe it's just because I love turtles.