I spent the last week at New Smyrna Beach, Florida, with my boyfriend’s family. They go all out for this beach trip, renting two adjacent condominiums with a perfect view of the ocean, cooking for a week ahead of time so no money is spent going out to eat, and a huge seaweed art project to top everything off. As if I weren’t already having an exceptional time at beach week, we had a pleasant surprise while eating dinner at the beginning of the week. Someone noticed a commotion on the beach outside the condominium window. We soon realized that the vacationers were surrounding the sea turtle nest just below.

The sea turtles were hatching, and we realized it just in time to see a baby break out of his shell and open his eyes to the beautiful white sands and blue-green shoreline that New Smyrna Beach offers. This was the most amazing experience for me, being a turtle-lover. I have a three-year-old Yellow Bellied Slider that I consider my own child, and I've taken up an interest in other kinds of turtles. I've even saved a turtle from the middle of a busy Orlando street, and I didn't even get mad when it peed on me. So when I heard that there were sea turtles hatching, which is something that I've never had the honor of seeing, I literally jumped at the opportunity. My boyfriend and I hopped out of our seats and ran down the stairs to the crowd of people.

As we waited for the turtles to hatch, the crowd grew, and so did our restless hearts. "Just hatch already!" I thought a million times, eager to see the babies that were just barely three inches in size. When the first egg finally cracked open, I was in awe - not only because of how precious the little ones were, but how they knew to slowly make their way to the shore. They didn't all have the easiest time bypassing shells and mounds of sand. Whenever this happened, there was a professional to help guide them along to their destination. This reminded me of how humans are: one day we awaken in a haze, so lost in the world we find ourselves in. We are weak and helpless beyond measure. A strange force makes us crave something beyond our fingertips - the shoreline, for turtles, but a kind of faith, for humans. This longing is compelled by instinct. Without the daring journey to the shore, the turtles' lungs wouldn't fully develop. Similar to the turtles' trek, our relationship with God strengthens even when the going gets tough. Although we might stray from our original path, a man named Jesus helps guide us to our salvation, to our own shoreline.

If you've been to a beach during hatching season, you know that it is of utmost importance to shut your blinds to prevent the possibility of leading the turtles astray. They are naturally led to sea by the luminescent moon over the shore. But there will always be that one person who shines their own light, distracting the turtles and making them believe that their direction is right. It may not be the person's intention to interfere; they are just living the way that they are used to. This reflects how we may mistake someone else's light as the light of the Lord - we think we're pointed in the right direction by those around us, but we are simply being misguided. Some of us find our way to the waters, but others lose their path along the way.

Not to mention that it is incredible how much the sea turtles learn about themselves in the distance between their nesting site and the water, which equates to the distance of a football field. When the babies hatch, they discover how to move by cracking open their egg shell and finding their way through the crevices of the sand. During this time, turtles develop their lungs and discover how to move their flippers to push themselves along. Without the journey, the babies would miss out on so much. It's a moment of self realization and without our journey that comes along with believing in Christ, life would seem a lot less meaningful.

That day I witnessed a miracle of four baby turtles navigating themselves to the sea, just like I've witnessed the miracle of those around me being led to the Lord. I marveled at the strength they gained on their way to the sea. I'm thankful that I got to participate in the beginnings of a beautiful life for the turtles because they reminded me of myself, once so unsteady on the ground I stood on and now so strong in my faith. I'm thankful that Jesus is a worker of miracles.