The first time Pilot and I stopped at the Kansas welcome center on Interstate 35, while I  looked around the gift shop, “Over the Rainbow” played in the background. Tee shirts with pictures of the Good Witch of the North, Ruby Slippers, Toto teapots, and emerald green coffee mugs lined the shelves. The place was filled with Wizard of Oz memorabilia.

I found Pilot and asked, “What is with all the Wizard of Oz stuff?”

Pilot looked at me, as he often does, when what I have just said makes absolutely no sense to him, whatsoever. “We’re in Kansas.”

“Sooo?” It took a minute, while Pilot stared at me, then, “Oh, yeah. Of course.”

Duh.

Now I am sure none of you reading this would have been as dense, as I was. Kansas wasn’t our end destination on this trip. Colorado was. We were merely passing through the great state. I wasn’t thinking about where I was, in relationship to Dorothy’s no place like home. I was thinking more in line with wheat, buffalo, and the Santa Fe trail.

Before we left the gift shop, I purchased several books on early pioneers, a few trinkets, and a music box that plays, “Over the Rainbow”. Pilot chose a music box that plays, “If I Only Had a Brain”. I am positive he did not buy that for me!

In Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is on a quest to get home. Because, as we know, there is no place like home. We too, are on a quest to reach our eternal home. Heaven.

On our journey we sometimes run into people who need a heart, because theirs is mean-spirited or callous. We may meet people who need courage for the difficult tasks they face. Often times, we are surrounded by people who appear to need a brain, because they seem to keep making the same bad choices over and over again. Of course, there is that wicked witch with her flying monkeys, who seems to make life miserable for those in her wake.

Maybe we are the ones who need the heart, courage, or brain. Or who, occasionally, hiss, “I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too.”

Instead of looking for the not-so-great Wizard behind the emerald curtain, we need to turn to our true friend, Jesus. He’s the one who can make our hearts brand new. He’s the one who will give us the courage we lack. If we let him, Jesus can straighten out our brains, and help us make the right choices. As we follow Jesus, He can also teach us how to deal with the flying monkeys.

We may not have ruby slippers, but we have something far superior. We have a Savior who will lead us home.

So Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to take away the sins of many people. And he will come a second time, not to offer himself for sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28

Which character from the Wizard of Oz do you most relate to?

I wish you well.

Sandy

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