A Lizzies Reprieve

A Lizzies  Reprieve 

                                              Written by Wendy Buss

                                                       Image courtesy of fanpop.com

Whilst housesitting in a beautiful  ocean front  home  at Sunrise Beach recently  one morning a rather large Blue Tongue Lizard  wandered in to the house .It  must have come in via the open front door  which was left open so that the two cats I was minding  could access a lovely little courtyard filled with a wonderful assortment of plants .Luckily they did not see the lizard come in to the house 

Before I even realized we had an unexpected visitor the lizzie  had scampered across a sizeable expanse of wooden floor in the open/plan living/ dining area and had run into the kitchen  where I first spotted it.It  ran under the fridge and I quickly picked up the cockroach baits I had laid  just the previous night before lest the lizzie  go for a nibble with that  long blue tongue and get  itself   into trouble  >

Finally the lizard  came out from under the fridge. I  crept closer keen to get a better look at it  .It  caught my movement and froze .It  was just so handsome .It’s  beautiful smooth beige shiny skin was etched with dark brown and black dots and shapes  which each seemed so precisely and artfully placed it made me think of a beautiful aboriginal painting .Did life imitate art or art imitate life ?I wondered as I gazed at the lizard admiringly.

The lizard had the loveliest finely etched slender pointed faced and surprisingly gentle eyes I was mesmerized by it .He started to move away but I managed to cut him off at the pass and with a few strategic parlays of the broom managed to direct him towards the back door where I mistakenly imagined he would be able to make an instant  bid for freedom .Alas though  No as I ushered him outside I hadnt realized that the   backdoor led to a steep concrete  walled path  with a set of very steep concrete steps at one end and a concrete stairwell  framing another set of rather steep steps to the carport at the other end and this back door sadly  offered the lizzie  very few options for a smooth getaway 

I watched  with increasing concern as the lizard explored each and every option to  make a run for it without success .First and in fact twice he headed down to the steep set of stairs leading to the pool and peered  tentatively over the edge but stopped short there clearly not relishing the nose dive he would need to make  and clearly calculating it too  too steep a descent He duly then  ran back up to the other  end under the stairwell .It then  tried unsuccessfully getting a foothold on the concrete walls that flanked two sides of the stairwell at the other end of the path  .Next the lizard  tried to  clamber up the steps from the back side  but found the angle and distance between the steps  too steep and precipitous for him to manouvre himself  up successfully .There was one wooden slatted wall under the stairwell that  flanked  region under the house The lizard tried unsuccessfully to slip through the slats in this wooden wall  but they were too narrow for his rather plump body.It walked around and around   going from one hopeless dead end to another . 

I felt very sorry for him  as he became increasingly frustrated over the next ten minutes wondering how I could help  He was about 2 feet long end to end and much as admired him  and thought him a splendid creature  I couldnt see myself picking him up and thought about calling WIRES   the wildlife  rescue service  .Then I had a bright idea about  somehow shepherding him into an empty plastic laundry basket and carrying his to freedom  However he was none to cooperative backing away from my every attempt to get him to run close to the basket .

At this point feeling a bit desperate  and wondering what it was in my power to do ?  It suddenly occurred to me that  the Lizard and I  both wanted the same thing for him and that was his freedom  I suddenly remembered the scripture  that Christ himself had said that

“Wherever two or more are gathered in my name  there will I be” 

and I remembered one of Florence Schovel Skinns quotes from her  book The Game Of Life and How to Play it 

e.g.  “God makes a way where there is no way “

and suddenly I remembered how the Unitarian Church teachings  teach  to speak the word for a miracle to happen and to ask for the Highest and Best  outcome by Divine Design 

So I decided to speak the word for a miracle to happen for the trapped lizard. Certainly it seemed it had exhausted all its options and could see no way forwards and I felt  powerless to help  so I prayed and spoke the word for the lizard to find the Divine solution to its problem  .

Suddenly then within the next couple of minutes   after I had said my prayer on its behalf,  the Lizard moved across to the slatted wooden wall  but instead of trying to  squeeze through the wooden slats instead it began using them  as toeholds to  manouvre  himself  adeptly up the back of the stairs . He climbed  about half a dozen slats using them as toeholds to scale  the same number  of  steps climbing slat by slat ,  step by step  confidently like some  expert rock climber  until he reached the top step  and then he was able to slide through  and climb that final step to freedom  .I watched in amazement .It was as if some higher intelligence had stepped in and commanded his  movements and  within the space of less than a minute the Lizard had  found a solution to his dilemna  and made his bid for freedom .

I was astounded and watched in awe and wonder  and marvelled about it all day. It made my day this close encounter with  a truely beautiful creature you might not often get to see up close and served as  a powerful reminder of the magical power of prayer .

“God makes a way where there is no way ”