The tide has gone out. The sand is hard and damp. Let’s go out together and explore this beach.
The breeze feels nice on our faces. Our hands feel sticky from the salt air.
There’s something up ahead on the beach, something reddish blue that stands out from the sand. Wait, whoa! There are a lot of somethings! They could be clumps of seaweed or large stones the tide has left behind. Maybe they are sea animals? But they are not moving. Maybe they are asleep on the sand.
These might be ocean crabs! Yes, they are crabs.
Another day, when we got close to a crab, it scampered away from us. Crabs have ten legs and they move sideways. They can go quite fast. But these crabs are completely still. Are they all dead? What can have happened to them?
Come closer. Let’s lean in and gently touch one. It is safe to pick it up. There is no crab here—only a shell.
Animal bodies grow and change all the time. When we humans grow, our bones become longer and stronger. Our skin stretches to protect the body as it gets bigger. Crabs have a shell instead of skin. The shell is hard instead of stretchy. From time to time, the growing crab must leave its shell behind. This is called “molting.” And this explains the crab shells strewn across the beach today.
The living crabs have returned to the ocean where their bodies will form a new, bigger, hard shell that’s the right size.
We humans don’t have to molt in order to grow. But sometimes our growing requires some changes. For example, as your body grows you will need bigger clothes. As your mind grows, you will learn to do new things. As your heart grows, you will show your care for yourself, your family, and others in new ways. As you grow in all the ways, you will leave the “old you” behind.
Changing in order to grow is good and natural for a human being, just like molting is for a crab.
Wondering Questions
Sometimes it feels like changes “just happen” to us, like they do for a crab that molts. But sometimes we have opportunities to create a change, or shape changes as they happen.
- What would you like to change?