The Birth of Sammy the Turtle

     One warm spring day, a large female sea turtle, named Luna, slowly crawled from the ocean to the sand dunes of St. Simon’s Island. The sand dunes seemed so far away to Luna. She did not like being out in the open. She felt exposed and could not wait until she could return to the safety of the ocean. Slowly, she crawled towards a sand dune hoping that it had not been previously chosen by another turtle. If there was already a nest there, she would have to choose another sand dune. Luna was very tired after making the long journey here.
     She looked all around the sand dune. Finding no evidence of another nest, Luna dug into the sand with her back flippers to create a home for her eggs. She kept her mind on her task, but stayed aware of the things around her. She saw a couple of sea gulls fly overhead and land a couple of feet away. She laughed to herself as she watched them fight over a single cheese doodle. Why fight over it? It’s big enough for you to both have some. She shook her head as she continued digging.
     Many creatures came to watch Luna as she dug her nest. They were curious to see what she was doing. A small robin landed on her shell and tilted its head.
     “What are you doing?” he asked.
     “Preparing a home for my eggs.”
     The robin walked along the edge of her shell looking at the hole that she had dug.
     “Where are the eggs?” he asked.
     Luna laughed and shook her head.
     “What’s so funny?”
     “I haven’t laid my eggs yet. It is not yet time.”
     “Oh. Does it take a long time?”
     “It depends on how many eggs I will lay, but yes it generally takes all night.”
     “Wow, I wouldn’t want to be you.”
     “Do you not also lay eggs?” Luna asked.
     The robin laughed hysterically.
     “Of course not, my wife does all of the laying. That would be an impossible task for a guy.”
     “Yes, I suppose that it would.”
     “Well, I hope that all goes well for you. I have to go find something for my wife to eat. I hope to see you again.”
     The robin spread open his wings and leaped up into the sky. He looked down at the sea turtle admiring the beauty of her shell.
     “It was nice meeting you,” Luna said.
     “It was great meeting you too,” the robin called as he circled overhead.
     Luna returned her attention back to her task. When the hole was large enough, Luna backed out of the nest to take a look at it.
     This nest is fit for a queen if I do say so myself. Luna smiled. Satisfied with what she had done, she turned around and backed into the hole. She lay there watching the waves lapping against the shore. Luna was so tired. Her eyelids closed as she fell asleep.
The sun set as the moon rose over the horizon. Luna awakened as the first egg began its descent out of her body. She looked up at the stars and the moon.
     This is so beautiful. Thank you, Lord for giving me such a peaceful night. She watched the nightlife as she strained to lay her eggs. Though the pain was severe, she knew that it was well worth it. Someday her children would hatch and go out into the world to do great things. That makes it all worthwhile. She smiled as the last egg left her body. She looked up at the sky and saw that the moon was getting ready to set.
Luna used her flippers to drag the dirt back into the hole covering her eggs. The earth would keep the nest warm so that the eggs would hatch. It would also help to protect her children from predators. When the hole was completely filled with dirt, Luna lovingly patted the earth down. Time to go home. Luna turned and headed back towards the safety of the sea. Halfway there she turned back to look at her nest one last time.
     Though Luna would have loved to stay and see her little ones hatch, she knew that there was no way that she could survive if she stayed. She said a prayer over her eggs asking God to watch over them and keep them safe. She hoped that He would allow her to see her children someday. It tore at Luna’s heart to leave her eggs alone. A single tear ran down her face as she turned to enter the ocean.
     Each day God looked in on Luna’s children to make sure that they were safe. He had the sun shine on the nest for months to keep the eggs warm. He touched the nest with a gentle breeze every day to show how much He loved them.
     One day one of the eggs started to crack. God watched as the first of Luna’s children wriggled and pushed her way out of the eggshell. He then started pushing his way out of the dirt into the world beyond. A few minutes later, another egg started to crack and then another one. God smiled as He watched each of Luna’s children press his or her way forth into the world.
     “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Wait where’s the eighth one?” God said smiling.
     He looked back at the nest and saw that the eighth egg had yet to crack. He blew a warm gentle breeze over the nest.
     “Come on out Sammy. The world needs you,” God said coaxing the last of Luna’s children out of his shell.
     Little Sammy stretched out his flippers and heard something crack. He pulled his flippers back and peeked out of his shell. It was dark inside of the eggshell. Sammy closed his eyes and pulled his head back inside of his shell. He was a little afraid until he heard the voice of God encouraging him to come out. Sammy poked his head out again. He used his beak to break the eggshell above his head. A few minutes later, his head poked out of the eggshell and into the warm, soft dirt beyond. Sammy smiled as the heat from the earth warmed his soul. He used his back flippers to push his body out of the eggshell and into the dirt.
     It was still dark and Sammy hoped that he would be able to see soon. The dark scared him a little. He knew that there were other eggs in the nest as he could hear their heartbeats while he was still inside his egg. He wondered if any of them had hatched yet. He was eager to meet his brothers and sisters. When Sammy’s entire body was out of the egg shell and in the dirt, Sammy stopped for a few minutes to warm his body. The warm dirt felt good on his skin. Sammy lay there for a few minutes before using his front flippers to propel his body to the surface. I wonder what the world will be like. Are my brothers and sisters waiting for me? How many of us are there? I cannot wait to see what the world looks like.
     Sammy closed his eyes as his head broke free of the dirt. He slowly opened them to peer at the world around him. The moon was just beginning to set over the horizon and the night sky twinkled from all the stars. Sammy was awed by its beauty.

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