The day was so beautiful, crisp and bright, a cool wind blowing with a touch of the holiday spirit in the air. The sky was winter blue, illustrated with a few clouds sketched by Father Sky. I missed the sun setting but I took Penelope on a walk right as the night drank in the dusk and there were four beautiful diamonds sparkling in the purple velvet of the night sky, the stars waking the moon from his slumber to take his place in the night sky pageant.

I formally declared today a feeted pajama day and was lazy all day listening to music and reading in my chair. When I turned on the tv in the lady den I stumbled across the movie The Wizard of Oz. When I was a child my best friend would always call me to remind me to watch the movie and I never watch it without thinking about him. His family must have subscribed to the TV Guide because I never knew the movie was coming on unless he told me. I was amazed by all the beautiful quotes in the movie and was furiously scribbling them down on the back of a junk mail envelope before I realized I could probably find the quotes on the internet. Frank Baum was a wonderful story teller and I’m sure that movie still thrills and scares children today.

The Wizard of Oz tells us we all have power within ourselves to overcome challenges. We can find the courage to achieve our goals, even when faced with obstacles. With God standing with us we are strong enough to weather the storms that come our way.

I love the movie’s quote about no place like home. “No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.” I think we all long for the security and love we find in our family homes. We feel safe and secure surrounded by people we love. Our homes truly are where our hearts reside.

God has created a home for us in heaven, too. Scripture in John 14:2-6 reads, “In my father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Our spiritual home will be in heaven where we’ll be reunited with our loved ones. “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come,” Hebrews 13:14. 

The Wizard of Oz: “As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don’t know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.”

At one point in the movie Dorothy says, “If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with!” We all search for the things that are important to us while they are right in front of our face. The ordinary blessings that make life so glorious, the things we truly value are closest to our hearts, we don’t need to search for them.

The Wizard says to the Tin Man, “And remember, my sentimental friend, that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.” This quote is a powerful thought about how our lives are enriched by the deep emotional connections we make with family and friends and the importance of showing love to the people around us.

God wants us to show his love and grace to others, bringing them into the kingdom of heaven by our witness. In John 15:12 God commands us to “love each as I have loved you.”

“Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high, there’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue… and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.” — Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

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