I was sad this morning when I realized Christmas the crab had passed away. And it’s hard to process this, but I know the Lord gave me both the idea and the means to process this too, by writing. He surely gave me the crab to take care of – lost in the woods in October in an area far away from native. This was 7 years ago.

The clear idea for a devotion given to me by the Holy Spirit is probably the most important devotion I could write about Christmas the crab… See, Christmas the crab died without his shell, the shell was nowhere near him even if he had plenty of shells to choose from. He made his way to his water dish vulnerable. I don’t know what he could think, IF he could think, but there was never a time he was without his shell, never. It was as if (if he thought) that he laid it all bare, exposed, open, forthcoming, free, and went to the water… and that’s how WE should be with the Lord, reaching to His water.  OPEN, FORTHCOMING, FREE.

Yes, not only does the Lord already know all, He wants us to lay it all down, leaving it all exposed, and let Him see us hungering for Him, seeking cover in Him only, seeking hope in Him only, and accepting our finality at the end of our days, hitting the finishing line with nothing left in us… We are blessed to set aside our hidden mess.

Another thing I noticed about Christmas the crab was that he was much bigger out of his shell than he was in it. He was agile in the shell and protected, just like we are in the Lord. The beauty of life is that God is watching us inside and out. The beauty of coming to Him unencumbered is that WE lose our baggage. 

Perhaps also we can work on peace with the Lord by being willing to show our pieces into His puzzle, and let us be clicked in.

Goodbye, little Christmas the crab. I will plan to bury you in the same stretch of forest where I found you at camp. 7 years… endless joy from knowing God sent me his way on His Way…

Peace

(As for details, he did not seem well at all after his last moulting to a much smaller creature, darker in color, lethargic. And I have always known Christmas to be so very active…  I thought this morning that I haven’t heard him in a little bit and checked on him. And I always was very neglectful but did change the water once a week. So I thank you so very much for over 7 years of sharing with me of interest and support and love and curiosity and marvel at the works of the Lord. )

Keep walking as if today is a new adventure, and then make it so.

Amen