I entitled this post “Quiet Time,” but it was anything but quiet. Last Thursday evening I stood in the midst of about 80 friends; some of them I know and treasure, 
more of them I don’t yet know, but still treasure. We were worshiping God in music and singing, when I found myself in my quiet place with Father God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. To my great delight we were joined by my dear sweet Jacqueline, my beloved iguana that passed away in July.
Jackie was basking on a rock, and oh! how her colors dazzled me. She was quite a beauty while she was with me, but now, her beauty is indescribable. Her greens were bold, bright, and iridescent. I simply cannot put into words the depth and richness of her colors. And Jackie’s eyes – so beautiful. Her brown eyes with rings of gold caught my breath. My heart rejoiced to see her as she really is, with her true heavenly beauty not obscured by my human eyes.
Then Papa told me the most marvelous secret. He revealed to me that He had created iguanas just for my pleasure! He told me that He knew from the very beginning that I would love iguanas and I would fall in love with their complex colors, patterns, and textures. What an incredible gift of His Creative Genius. How great is My Father’s love for me!
Thank You, God, for loving me so much, for knowing me so intimately, and for delighting in giving me the delights of my heart. The world is a more beautiful place because You created iguanas, and You created them to bring me joy! Thank You, Papa, I love you!
heartofamethyst 
You write like a brilliant novelist with your descriptions. I’m so drawn into the setting that you’re painting and I feel the emotions that you are describing like they are my own.
The revelation that God created iguanas for your pleasure is so unique, silly, and heartwarming. It brings a smile to the heart to see that God is such a personal God.
jj-
I’ve long admired all you have accomplished in this unique realm, and I am so thankful for all you have shared with us at SCSS. You have amazing gifts and you bring glory to God in all you do with them.
I am honored that you like my blog, and I am truly pleased that you like what I’ve written. I love, love, love the arts – singing, music, books, painting… all things created by our hands. But I’ve always considered myself lacking creativity or talent. I’ve come to realize that I am an artist; my medium – words. I am creative! I am passionate about writing, and I love God for giving me this gift. So I thank you for giving me this platform and for encouraging me!
As I read your post, I was reminded of the song,”All Creatures of our God and King”, Lift up your voices let us sing, Oh praise Him, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!…. God sure does make remarkably different kinds of beasts!
Hallelujah, Denise, and thank you! 🙂
I love all of God’s creation, all His creatures, great and small.
What an awesome story! It brought tears to my eyes. I’m wondering now if God has created something special for me. I will ask him and wait for an answer. Thank you for sharing with us.
I love to share that I’m God’s favorite, but He is so big that everyone is His favorite! So, because you too are His favorite, I’m positive that He has created something very special for you as well. I wonder what it is.
What is the delight of your heart? What brings you joy? I’m sure Papa is behind it! He is waiting expectantly – eagerly – for you to ask so that He can share His secret with you. I’m excited for you!
Please share with me when you and Papa talk about it and He shares His unique creation for you.
God bless!
Thank you for sharing about Jacqueline and posting her picture for us! You truly are a creative artist with words! Gail
Thank you, Gail, for your kind words. I still miss my Jacqueline dearly, but how can I deny her paradise? Papa promised me He’d take good care of her until I join them, and my is He the best!
I’m thankful that God has given me a passion for words, and this platform with which to share with others. God bless!
Michelle your post spoke so eloquently, & powerfully of life to my heart & spirit concerning Gods desires to affirm & bless us in all things. We were paramount in His plans of love for us when He created this world. What a thought to ponder. Beautiful. Thank you.
Suki
Thank you, Suki, for you kind words and thoughts! I am constantly overwhelmed by Papa’s love, by His passion to meet our needs. Imagine, the Creator of the Universe cares so much about each one of us, down to every last cell. He is El Roi, the One Who Sees Us, Who hears us!
This was so beautiful Thank you for sharing your thoughts…God has blessed you and allowed us to be blessed by your wonderful thoughts
@ happykat52, thank you for enjoying my post. this is a marvelous cycle, isn’t it? God blessed me with quiet time with Him, which in turn has allowed me to share and bless others. Now, the blessing doubles back to me.
Oh, how beautiful. This creates a hunger in me for more intimacy and encounters with my Daddy. Your experience with Papa reveals His heart in such a precious way. That He would think of you when creating the famous iguana and do it FOR you. Wow! That is extravagant. Brings up some worthiness issues for me, help me Jesus. It warms my heart think think of how much thought he put into every detail of an iguana’s design just for your pleasure. I can imagine and feel that joy He must have been feeling. Deep in His gut, so excited, eyes almost rolling back with pleasure, huge smile, knowing how much YOU would love what he was making. Ah, that’s a sweet Daddy.
@ katiemckenzie1 – I love, love, love how you described Papa as He was designing iguanas! Funny, isn’t it. But it is as you described; I know it to be true.
I think of all the times I just marveled over the different textures of Jackie’s body, how I loved to pet her foot pads (and contemplated painting my nails to match hers!), and Papa was probably thinking about that as He and Jesus put the finishing touches on the iguana’s design. My, how He loves me! There’s really no room left for those ugly thoughts of unworthiness and “not special” once you realize He delights in pleasing you.
What amazes me the most is that because He has done this for me, I know He has done this for everyone. My, how He loves us all!
Michelle – what a spectacular encounter. It’s true… when you’ve ascended into the heavenlies, it’s hard to put in words, in the physical realm, a description that the human mind can understand. You did a GREAT job in sharing your vision. There’s only LIGHT in heaven so the reflections & dimensions become multi-dimensional & the colors indescribable. WOW… I can see Jackie, so majestic. That makes me smile how Papa God makes you smile… that’s a beautious encounter for sure!!
@ glohini – thank you for sharing in my joy. Thank you for seeing the beauty and the love in the moment.
I kind of forgot that in posting my experience, I was sharing my quiet place with the world. But you know, it’s okay! I hope that in sharing how Papa was tending the garden of my heart, others will see how Papa seeks to tend to theirs.
Thank you for your kind words. It is impossible to describe Glory, but you have encouraged me to continue to do my best.
I smiled as I read your post. It amazes me that all God created was for our pleasure and he knew for you it was your precious jacqueline. Who knew that it would be during your time of worship that he would reveal his love to you by reminding you of your precious iguana. I loved how God saw your heart and brought it into revelation through your precious time with him.
@ Dianna – I love our worship time. Drawing heaven to earth through their music – I hope I have the chance to let our worship team know just how awesome our worship time is. And it’s not just the musicians, is it? It’s all of us, pressing in to God and drawing Him through our desire for His Presence. Love it!
God has such an awesome sense of humor! Imagine, iguanas! But they are quite magnificent. I’m thankful that others are enjoying the way God has loved on me. I hope everyone will share the ways God loves on them – we will change the world through sharing God’s tender heart.
Thank you for the very eloquent reflection of this marvelous secret.Your post reminds me of how our father is so creatively able and personal in his pursuit of giving us the desires of our hearts.I am keeping my heart wide open to see what he has created especially for me.
Yes! Papa’s pursuit of us is overwhelming. I am constantly amazed. It’s one thing to see the beauty of our world and appreciate His wonders. It’s quite another thing to discover that Papa has created something so unique, beautiful, and fun just for me. I am eager to hear what Papa has poured His creative genius into for you!
Hey, I think that is so true. I love how Daddy puts desires into our heart, random it my seem, but shows how well Daddy knows you. You get excited about iguanas and I get excited about hiking, both important and different. I love you see what inspires people, hint: what hidden treasures have Daddy placed in your heart. Discover more and more treasures that Daddy has given you and you have not yet found. Enjoy the hunt!!
@laurajbeloved – so true! Papa places passions in our hearts, and then He stokes them. All so that He can then give us those delights. It’s sometimes hard to believe that the God of the Universe cares so much for us!
Hiking is such a great opportunity to appreciate the world God has created for us to enjoy. There’s a treasure to discover every day! So awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me.
Michelle this really spoke to me. My 9 year-old daughter Sarah has a Chinese Water Dragon named Clover. Clover’s predecessor was a Christmas present last year, but never got a chance to grow. It was a challenge for me to not be able to “fix it” when she was sobbing over her loss. I think I will share this post with Sarah…Thank you.
@ Michelle – thank you for sharing this with me, it touches my heart both as a mom and as one who has grieved for that loss. I completely understand your desperate desire to fix the impossible. I can feel Sarah’s broken heart – truly!
I’d love to meet Sarah, my kindred, lizard-loving spirit! I hope my time with God and Jackie in my quiet place will bring her comfort. I hope it will assure her that God sees her and knows her heart, and He loves her.
Thank you Michelle for sharing about how much God delights in us by giving us creatures that we so delight in….for you your precious Jaqueline and all her glorious colors displaying God’s dazzling beauty…for me, my little “sister” Mui-Mui, a cat I had inherited from my earthly father, a cat who always seemed to know when I needed a snuggle from my Papa. I’d forgotten how much He cares for us even in such seemingly small yet incredibly amazing ways!!! Thank you for the reminder!!
@ followthespirit – thank you for sharing about Mui-Mui. You can just feel the love! I truly believe God’s love is poured out in so many ways that unless we pay attention, we miss the blessing.
A snuggle from Mui-Mui, a sticky tongue of an iguana … God speaks love in some really fun and crazy creative ways!
Love Papa’s creation…could spend my life gazing or should I say ‘grazing’ on it! =) You’re blessed with eloquent thoughts and expression … thank you for sharing! xoxo
JeanAnn
thanks, JeanAnn, very much. Papa is so magnificent, so awesome.
Thank you for your uplifting words. It means so much to me, truly! I love to write, and this has been the first time I’ve shared. The positive feedback has been so encouraging.
Such a simple and deep message. God loves you so much that he created iguanas for your pleasure. The funny thing is that He created them for my pleasure also. Wild iguanas were a great source of enjoyment during a desert time in my life. God was delighting me and staying close to me even if I wasn’t very good at seeing Him. Years later while looking back I discovered that what I thought of as a desert time was actually an oasis time–one of my closest times to the Lord. Papa God is delightful and mysterious.
@ RobThePrince – iguanas, desert to oasis, YAY!
Your comments immediately made me think of the teenaged Egyptian slave girl named Hagar, who ran away and found herself the desert. But El Roi knew her, knew where she was, knew her broken heart. And just as El Roi was with Hagar, He was and is with you. You discovered an oasis – I love that. God is delightful and mysterious!
I am so happy that you find such pleasure in iguanas. Truly, my joy overflows in hearing that someone else sees the beauty in these creatures as I do. Thank you!
Someone shared with me yesterday about your blog post about Jacqueline. It made me think of the phrase, “for such a time as this”….and I realized that I have had it backwards for so long. We were not created “for such a time as this”, “such a time as this” was created FOR US! Turns everything right side up….thanks for sharing!
I like that: “‘such a time as this’ was created for us!” You’ve brought out a new facet of understanding of what Papa did for me – you’ve shown me the bigger picture. He loves me so much that he created Jackie, not only for my pleasure but also so I could experience more of His love. It’s almost too much to comprehend. As Papa was mapping out the universe and the plans and destinies of everyone and everything, He wove my experience into it all. That’s amazing. That’s love. God is so wonderful and so mysterious.
Thank you for helping me to see Him more!
I’m very sorry to hear of Jackie’s passing. She was a cool Iguana. It was so neat how Pop allowed you to see her in heavenly color too. Bill
Thanks, Bill! Papa is so good! His gentleness has made her loss a little less painful Even though I can’t experience her here physically, I can still see her and enjoy her eternal beauty. Be blessed, my friend!
What an amazing gift of writing you have! I love your descriptions of Jackie… Isn’t it incredible how personal and intimate our God is with us? He shows me what a great romancer He is with the beautiful flowers He grows just for me!
How awesome is that! God grows beautiful flowers just for you – you are so special to Him!
I love how God touches each of us in a unique way, so we can know that He knows us so intimately. He woos each of us so gently, so delicately.
Thank you for sharing how God romances you. And thank you for your encouraging words. It builds my confidence.
I am touched by your words and the sharing of your heart towards your beloved Jacqueline. I am reminded of how intimately God knows us and how much He delights in the things we love that He created for our pleasure and His! He is the God who loves us. He cares about the things we care about and goes out of his way to show that He does. How wonderful that He gave you that picture of Jackie in all her colorful vibrance and beauty. He truly is the God who knows, loves and comforts us. Thank you for sharing this!
@sampsons1012 – I am speechless. How can I respond to such beautiful words? thank you for blessing me.
It’s so beautiful how we can be drawn into that “quiet place” when we are surrounded by the loudly resounding worship of our brothers and sisters! I so appreciate your willingness to be vulnerable by giving us a glimpse into that intimacy you experienced with Him. His personal touches are so precious! Thank you for honoring us by sharing them!
@ Sarah – our time of worship is priceless for me. I love when I can just completely lose myself in God.
The backstory really glorifies God. Last year, I struggled. I never felt comfortable in our activation times and I was never able to let go of the distractions and lose myself in Papa. First year broke off all the hindrances and brought me such freedom. I no longer doubt that Papa is speaking to me.
For anyone who finds themselves in that place – be encouraged by this! God is doing a great work here. I can’t wait to see how much everyone grows as the school year progresses.
Thank you for handling my vulnerability with gentleness.
Thank you so much for sharing that! That is such a cool revelation! What a blessing hear God speak something so intimate like that to you! It’s wonderful when He reveals to us that He knows us so well and is intimately involved in every area of our lives. This actually just reminded me of a time where God spoke to me in a similar way about a year ago. It was so simple and may seem silly to others, but it melted my heart in a way that only God could. He just spoke to me that He knows my favorite band, and He shares in the joy that fills my heart when I listen to them. (It’s the Supertones by the way. They are an old Christian Ska band I grew up listening to.) Praise God!!!! He is intimately involved in all of our lives! And He knows us better than anyone else! And He shares our joys! He delights with us in the simplest joys of this life to the highest pleasures of the next!
I love you Daddy!!
@ davidestrella25 – How awesome! Thank you for sharing such a sweet, intimate moment. I totally understand what you shared – I have to admit the thought that others might find my love for my iguana to be silly or simple did cross my mind, but I just refuse to fear man’s response.
Nothing speaks love more than Someone knowing the true delights of your heart. God knows you. He delights in You. He loves what you love and He enjoys what you enjoy. How wonderful. I hope every time you listen to the Supertones you rest in knowing that Papa is enjoying the music with you!
Please consider sharing this intimate moment in your blog. It is so encouraging and it will give hope to others. God is yearning to tell every person how much He loves them and how much He knows their hearts. Your testimony honors Papa.
I looked at that beautiful Iguana and got very emotional. What a lovely creature she is and created just for you. I have 2 cats Milo and Motzi I rescued and nursed and they are so sweet. Also my two precious wiener dogs Madel and Minna. These animals are such loyal and comforting friends. They are my children!! You totally made me think a different way about my animals and how Papa brought them into my life at just the right time to give and receive unconditional love and affection. Love, SHoshana
@ Shoshana – thank you for sharing your heart with me. I loved hearing about your pets, Milo and Motzi, Madel and Minna. Animals are gifts, and I truly believe they are another way for Papa to love on us. Papa created them for you for your pleasure, and I am so pleased that you have loved them with the love only you could give them.
Papa is so good! And He loves the way you share your love, not only with these beautiful creatures but also with His finest creation – His children. God bless you!