On a back country road, a snapping turtle sat unmoving. I wanted to get it moving, but wasn’t sure how. I stood behind the turtle, hoping that my presence would be enough. No such luck. It remained where it was and how it was – tucked in tight. An animal in danger resorts to the “flee, fight or freeze” response. This animal chose to freeze. In the world of turtle versus car, that is true until the driver sees it too late.

From the vantage of my rational frontal lobe, I thought, “Stupid turtle,” doesn’t it know that to stop is absolutely the wrong thing to do? Freezing will not solve the problem, but make it worse. Disaster is just around the bend!

Of course there have been plenty of times in my life when I have done exactly the same thing. In response to real or imagined threats, I have dropped down in the middle of life, sinking under a heavy shell of fear. I have gone fetal and pulled the covers over my head like a child who is afraid of the monsters lurking in the closet or under the bed.

There will always be things that frighten us, cause us to stop in our tracks and act out of the ancient reptilian part of our brain – flee, freeze or fight – trampling our better selves. Maybe that is why scripture often says, “Fear not,” because we so often do when confronted by the call of God, a call to the new and unknown.

For example, in the closing chapters of the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses gave his last instructions to Joshua. Knowing he would die before the Hebrew people entered the Promised Land, Moses appointed Joshua as his successor.

Imagine trying to fill Moses’ sandals! Joshua had many unknowns before him not the least of which was his ability to lead the people wisely and well. Joshua had plenty to fear, but, as Moses reminded him, God would be with him and with the people. They would not be forsaken. Remaining on the banks of the Jordan was not in the plan, however safe that seemed.

Back to the frozen turtle. Unsure of what to do and with no other option obvious, I gently nudged the back of its shell with my foot. Immediately the turtle stood on its legs, raising itself up like some prehistoric, armored machine, and, sticking its neck out, moved with surprising speed across the road and into the relative safety of the tall grasses on the other side.

And maybe that is all it takes to keep us from being frozen in our fears. I nudged the turtle, knowing that it might very well attempt a return trip across the road.

Moses nudged Joshua along on a journey that would bring danger and difficulties, and in the knowledge that not all the choices made would be good ones.

God nudges us along, promising to be with us in a world both beautiful and terrifying, one that delights and alarms us and sends us to our knees in wonder or in fear. Always, the invitation from the Holy is to keep moving along whatever path we walk, even those that go through dark and fearsome valleys.

While it is essential that we stop along the way to appreciate and revel in all that we love and hold dear, it is equally vital that we do not get trapped in conventions, security and patterns that become burdensome shells into which we retreat when we feel discomfited or threatened.

What I need to remember is to be attentive to that divine nudge, to trust it and follow it. Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life in abundance,” not a life burdened by possessions and power which are their own sorts of protective shells, but a life lived in the richness of gratitude, and with the fearlessness that comes with remembering that I do not journey alone.

The Rev. Janet Dorman is the pastor of the Foreside Community Church, UCC, in Falmouth. She can be reached at jdorman@foresidechurch.org.