The Lion of Judah

by Deborah Maxey     8 Comments

Miracles say, “I am the Great I Am. And I Am here with you. Ever present.”
Do you create little surprises to delight those you love? I do. And I’m so blessed because so does my husband.
I used to love to pack surprises in lunch boxes. Special treats weren’t always food. Sometimes a love note, movie tickets or the promise of future fun plans.
Hubby is great at these surprises. Once, knowing I loved troll dolls as a young girl, he found tiny ones, the size of your thumbnail, bought lots of them, and planted them everywhere for me to find.
What a thrill!
God loves to surprise me too. When I get His surprises, my heart sings in worship. God’s surprises are totally mind-blowing. They are miracles.
I’ve always been a huge fan of The Lion of Judah. I collect images of that massively huge lion contrasted against small humans. There is a special album on all my technology with those pictures. Frequently I pull them up and visualize myself with Him. Especially if I’m anxious.
So, I eagerly awaited the release date of the movie, The Chronicles of Narnia. I could hardly wait for that moment when Aslan appeared. Hubby and I were there the very first Sunday evening and my heart soared with the huge image in that darkened theatre. We sat close, but I really wanted to go up to the screen and have them play that image over and over so I could feel like I was in one of those photoshopped images on my computer. But of course…I didn’t.
The next day was a Monday. Workday. I was always the first to arrive at my offices in the dark and thanked God for all twenty-one steps to open things up. “Thank you that the building is still safe and secure,” as I put my key in the lock. “Thank you for electricity and that we have power,” as we’ve certainly had our share of blackouts. “Thank you for these huge windows that look out on your sunrise,” as I opened the blinds. On Mondays, I had twenty-two reasons to praise. “Thank you that our cleaning person left everything so beautiful.” Over the weekend, she would clean three therapy rooms, the lobby, the office, and a playroom. The children’s room housed hundreds of toys and figures that children could choose to place in a sand tray and create a sculpture that represented their trauma, loss, biological or foster family, or school.
Opening the door to my office was always last in my routine. My space was a little sanctuary where I began in silence before others arrived and prayed for our practice and my clients.
After seeing the movie, all that night and Monday as I dressed for work, thoughts of Aslan went through my head. I planned to go back and see the movie again just to see him.
That Monday morning, hand on my doorknob, I prayed, “Lord thank you for CS Lewis, for the movie, for the image of Aslan and the feeling I got sitting there.”
When I opened my eyes and unlocked my office door, I was stunned to my core. My eyes were immediately brought to my desk. Setting on top of my closed laptop was a stuffed lion. I recognized it from the playroom. But, never before had a toy been moved to my office. (And never again). “Only God,” would have it there on that Monday morning.
I was lifted into another realm of reality. The reality that says, He is here. All the time. Ever present in my thoughts and prayers.
Later my office manager called the cleaning lady to ask why it was there. She had a logical explanation.
But miracles defy logic. We know when God speaks.
One day I will behold Him. He won’t need to be a huge lion. I can only imagine!

Please share a miracle you have experienced?
Are you a fan of photoshopped pictures that put you in His presence?

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8 Comments

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  1. Tina says:
    June 15, 2021 at 11:20 am

    I experience a miracle that most likely saved my life. I was a 14 yr. old girl who loved her motorcycle, pot, and cigarettes. I was severely depressed, holding secrets of lifelong abuse. When I needed to escape I would often take off on my motorcycle through the woods. One afternoon I had no pot, no cigarettes, and had decided that I just didn’t want to live anymore. I took off riding recklessly in hopes of crashing into a tree and contemplating my options. In the middle of a wooded area, I stopped, got off of my bike, and sat down in despair. As I did I caught something out of the corner of my eye, beside me in the dirt. It was a fresh pack of cigarettes, and it was the exact kind that I smoked just a smaller size, not the 100’s! In that moment I knew that God was with me. I knew that He saw my despair and that He heard my desperation. It was many, many years before I shared that story with anyone because who would really believe me that GOD had left me a pack of cigarettes! But He did! Now I know and can see how He was truly with me and kept me in many ways. Now, I work with many of these same kids who are hurting and I can do so because I trust that He is with them too and that what they are going through might just be the path that leads them to Him.

    Reply
    • Deborah Maxey says:
      June 15, 2021 at 12:01 pm

      Oh,Tina what a beautiful story of an incredible miracle. I have always felt that God speaks to us in a language we understand. He totally knew without a doubt you would understand the cigarettes as His connection to you. I just love that you shared this. I won’t forget it. It’s just beautiful.

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  2. Tyger says:
    June 15, 2021 at 12:34 pm

    Praise The Lord! Amen! I can only image. This is beautiful.

    Reply
  3. Sylvia says:
    June 17, 2021 at 7:32 am

    Miracles surround us. We just need to make ourselves aware of them and be thankful. Thank you for doing that and for sharing.

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  4. Deborah says:
    June 20, 2021 at 10:01 am

    I love reading others encounters with God as it strengthens my faith. On the flip side, sometimes it hurts as I find the heavens seemed to be closed most of the time for me and that can push me back into feeling defective as a child of God.

    A very good person suggested maybe before we come to Earth we chose what lessons we want to learn. Mine would have been to know the depth and breath of God’s love. C.S. Lewis points out in many of his books you cannot really understand or comprehend anything in life without having the negative aspects of life. If Mother Teresa could feel so lost then why not me? I absolutely know Jesus really did experience life and carried out sins as he experienced the ultimate pain, abandonment. He cried out on the cross asking the Father why he forsake him. Then a bit later Jesus commends his spirit to the Father. Maybe, the greatest gift we can give God is to chose to follow him, believe him, and not stop believing he loves us when it seems he is totally missing in our lives. It has to be a sheer decision of our will as emotions tell us to rant, rave, and walk away from God. I choose to believe regardless of how I feel and regardless if God seems to be in my life like others share. We each have our own walks, and like Jesus, it is our choice to walk with snd toward the Father or to walk away. My prayer, is that others like me have the courage and strength to keep walking with God as the devils loves to try to push us into jealousy and despair as then he can separate us from God.

    Each day I chose to not allow lack of feelings or God moments move me off my path closer and closer to God.

    Reply
    • Deborah Maxey says:
      June 21, 2021 at 6:43 am

      The overwhelming sense I get as I read your beautiful comment is how securely God has tethered you to Himself. I so agree with so much you’ve said, that the greatest gift is to believe even when He seems totally missing. That’s such faith. When you consider the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you have been given great faith! Amazing faith! You describe a blind trust walk. So impressive. He won’t let go of His end. He’s held it all this time, He called you and it’s HIm that keeps you tethered through the gift of faith. God bless you.

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