It had been a blustery winter afternoon, and my husband and three children were glad to be heading into the house after the long day away. The plan was to get unbundled and settle in for the night, maybe even watch a family video or perhaps play a game.

However, as we began to get unbundled, one of the boys, who headed straight to the bathroom upon our arrival, came frantically running out to us, “Godzilla is dead. I think he’s dead.”

As my husband and I looked at each other, we knew this night was not going to go as planned. Comforting our boys in the loss of their favorite pet, Godzilla, would not be an easy task. Godzilla was an iguana, who had been given to our oldest son for his birthday several years prior. Although the lizard was a small creature when he arrived, he had since outgrown his glass tank, and now made his home as a “free range” lizard, in our bathroom. Yes, you heard me correctly. We had a fairly large lizard who lived in our bathroom. He generally stayed in the bathtub, but when he got determined enough, he would climb his way out and scurry around the room. His living quarters, and people’s reaction to him as they sat down to use our toilet, was in itself, another very entertaining story.

However, on this day, we solemnly and quickly headed into the bathroom after our son, who was still frantic about his special pet. What could have happened? This green creature with his long tail was perfectly healthy when we had left that morning.

It didn’t take long to see what had happened. We walked into the bathroom, and there was Godzilla, up on the window ledge. The problem was that our bathroom window was in need of repair. The glass had been broken on the inside pane, and Godzilla had crawled through the hole, and spent the day between the inside windowpane and the storm window. You see, Godzilla loved sunlight. He loved basking on the windowsills during the day, as the sun shone through. Often we would bring him out of the bathroom and let him crawl up onto our large picture window in the living room, and he would soak in the warmth of the sun throughout the day. Today though, his desire for the sun may have cost him his life.

If you know anything about reptiles, you are aware they are cold-blooded animals. This means that their bodies make adjustments according to the temperatures around them. Our Godzilla was perfectly healthy when he climbed through that hole in the window and perched himself on the ledge between the windowpanes. But then, as the outdoor temperatures began to cool, as the sun went down, as frost even began to form on the storm window, and a little cold breeze blew through the cracks, Godzilla went from a healthy lizard, to a lizard whose body temperature began to drop. And as it did, he was unable to move. He was literally frozen between the windowpanes. The question was, was there any hope left for Godzilla. My husband and I certainly hoped so, but the odds didn’t seem good, as we stared as his lifeless body.

When we opened the window and retrieved Godzilla, he didn’t move a muscle. Unlike his normal, wiggly self, he was quite frankly, as stiff as a board. With tears running down the faces of our boys, my husband decided this was a moment in which he would try to offer some glimpse of hope. He mentioned to the boys that Godzilla was a coldblooded animal so there was a small chance that perhaps if we heated him back up, he would “come back to life”. I’m still not sure if my husband totally believed this would work or if he was buying time before we had to have the boys say good-bye to their beloved pet, but either way, we were going to give it a try.

The five of us squeezed inside our small bathroom, and Dad placed Godzilla on the floor in front of the heat vent. I went and turned the heat up so the air would begin blowing. And we all sat, huddled around, looking for any sign of life. The minutes went slowly by. “I don’t think anything’s happening Dad,” one of the boys would say. As Dad looked into my eyes, he said, “well he was pretty frozen. Let’s give him some more time.” As the boys took turns gently rubbing their finger along Godzilla’s back, we continued to sit on the floor. We continued to wait. The minutes ticked by, ten, fifteen, twenty. Hope was waning, when suddenly one of the boys saw it.

“I think I just saw his eye move!”

His eye? Really? Could it be? Seriously? We all tucked in closer to Godzilla and stared at his eyes. As one of the boys reached out to touch his head, Godzilla slowly moved it again! Yes! We all saw it with our own eyes this time! The eyelid on the right side, closest to the blowing heat, actually moved! Was it possible he was thawing? Still not positive if this was going to work, my husband and I were attempting to play it safe. While acknowledging that although his eyelid did indeed move, we also were hesitant to appear too hopeful, as this little creature still had at least twenty-three more inches to thaw.

As the minutes continued to roll by, a little more quickly now since a glimpse of hope had been gifted to us, one of the boys noticed another movement. “His toe just moved!” Really? Our focus shifted from his eyes to his toes. Soon we were all given more hope, as yes, we saw his toe move on his right side. Not soon after, further up his leg began to move. Yes, indeed! Not only were his eyelids opening and closing, his legs were starting to move too. As we all acknowledged how painful it must be for this creature to go through this thawing process, we still were able to reach for the hope that he was truly on his way to a full recovery.

The minutes had turned into over an hour, and Godzilla was progressing nicely. Not only were his eyelids opening and closing now, but his legs were also beginning to move, enabling him to slowly and carefully walk forward little by little, dragging his stiff tail behind him. “What about his tail?” one of the boys asked. “It’s furthest from his heart so it’s going to take a little longer,” responded older brother, obviously having some knowledge of how the whole reptile anatomy functions. And big brother was correct. After watching Godzilla walk a little bit more, his tail loosened up, and was soon swishing behind him like normal. By the time it was bedtime for the boys, they were secure in knowing that Godzilla had definitely “come back to life”.

The analogies between Godzilla and our spiritual life abound. The one that touches my heart today is the comparison between our lives and the situation in which Godzilla found himself on that blustery winter day.

Have you noticed that we can easily be caught up in situations that have the appearance of pleasure, only to discover the situation leads to problems or heartaches? Sin is like that. It can appear grand. Luxurious. Sexy. Fun. Comforting. All things that we, as human beings find appealing. Let’s go back and visualize how the sun was shining through that bathroom window, creating warmth, a most inviting location for a reptile such as Godzilla. So much better than the bathtub or carpet, he was walking around on. It looked like such a wonderful idea. And off he climbed. Just like us. Heading into sin disguised as grand. Luxurious. Sexy. Fun. Comforting. Maybe the extra food or drink we shouldn’t have taken. Maybe the flirting we did with someone who isn’t ours. Perhaps it is being a part of the group that is tearing someone else down. Perhaps it is viewing the websites we all need to be avoiding. Maybe it is the small lie we told. Maybe it’s the shortcut we took while working on our finances. The list goes on. And the sun in the windowsill looks different for each of us. However, the truth is, we all spend time on the windowsill. We climb up to the sin, and we often find ourselves consumed, unable to remove ourselves. Unable to climb down. Unable to save ourselves.

And then there is God. He is the Father who sent His Son to remove us from the windowsill. The One who will take the time to remove us from the sin, hold us during the time of pain we go through as a result of it, and turn us loose for new life, a new start, as we “come back to life” through Him.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, We recognize that we are sinful people. That we get caught up in sin that appears glamorous, but soon traps us. We thank you for reaching down and pulling us out of that sin, forgiving us, and allowing us to have a fresh start because of the salvation you offer through your Son, Jesus. Amen

Misty Cramer ©2020

If you’re unfamiliar with the love, forgiveness, and fresh start our God provides through His Son, Jesus, please ask me about Him. I would love to share more about Him with you.

Misty Cramer is an author and speaker from Michigan. You can head to her website (link in comments) and subscribe to be among the first to receive more blogs like this one. You can also find her on Facebook at Misty Cramer, Author & Speaker, and on Instagram @mistydawncramer.