my journey through Oz.

It's a funny idea to think that my story relates so much to the movie "The Wizard of Oz." Come to think of it, I think a lot of us can relate.

First, we've been taken captive in our own home--the so-called place of "safety." Also relating to our heart being our home. We huddle under our beds because the twister has taken us afloat in the air; not knowing where we are going to land. We come across this city paved in gold; and along the journey, we meet a cowardly lion, an empty tin man, and a brainless scarecrow.
Some how or another, I can see my reflection in each one of these characters.
I'm Dorothy-- wearing these beautiful ruby slippers; I am this lost princess; not knowing how to get back to my King, my Kingdom. And there is an evil lurking around me, trying to take me captive; trying to make me believe the lies that are spoken-- the ones that attack my heart and soul. And then I'm left wondering if there are bits of truth in them.
I'm left stranded. Alone. Lost.
In a foreign land.
How has this become my home?

So often, we just want to hide away, under our beds, because we feel more safe. But how does feeling safe equate to anything? It doesn't.
We have too much to give to the world to be anything BUT safe!
We may not believe it to be true, but nevertheless, other people believe in us.
And most importantly, God believes in us.

~Like the tin man with no heart, "If you lose yourself, you have lost all. If the process of relational discovery and investment costs you your soul [your HEART]. it is too much. You must believe with a stubborn confidence that the you God has made, and is making, is beautiful. You must believe this despite what the failures might tell you. You must believe this despite words to the contrary." You must come to love your heart with everything you have. It is what connects you to God.
>>Wizard of Oz: A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.
~Like the cowardly lion, if you lose yourself to YOURSELF, you have lost all. But God produces the courage to press on, to move on, to begin again. He has redeemed your heart. Because you are a CHILD of GOD, "He comes that you might know who you are and know it in the fullest. This means that in the relational economy Satan cannot steal enough to leave you broke. He cannot rob you blind unless you fail to see beyond his lies."
>>Wizard of Oz: You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage; you're confusing courage with wisdom.
~And like the brainless scarecrow, we often DO NOT think! We're caught up in these web of lies that come to destroy and kill us. We end up not even using our logical sense, our brains. We end up looking the scarecrow, filled with straw. The enemy tells us that we are NOT special. Who do we think we are to think such nonsense? "You think you're beautiful!? HA! Yeah right. Just look at you. Who would ever want to love you?" And our brain stops working. We start talking ourselves into this nonsense. We need to start USING the knowledge we know and tell him to back off, that we are special, we are LOVED! We were created in his image-- a child of his own. Just as if you have your own child, who is created in YOUR image, wouldn't you love them with EVERYTHING you have? Of course!

Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain... only straw.
Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?
Scarecrow: I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?
Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

"You are beloved of God, a child of God, cherished, beautiful, and a saint. Think this beautiful thought, "you are of Christ, and Christ is of God" (1 Cor. 3:23). These things are hard to hear sometimes when your heart aches for something tangible, something tactile to hold, but this is a beautiful truth. We are in Christ, and Christ is in God. We are very special, and God forgets none of us."

I'm in pure joyful state as I write this to you all. It's incredible how much My Father loves... even me. How do I so easily not believe this, and better yet, forget this?
-Like the tin man, I end up trying to get by in life without my heart; because if I let myself be vulnerable and open, I will get hurt. Disappointed. Rejected.
But how dare I live with no heart. That is not living. That is death.

-Like the cowardly lion, I end up being scared of what I could become. I end up hiding under my covers because it's safer there. I don't think someone like myself can make much of a difference in the world. Who am I anyway? But that's just it! By being afraid, by having no courage, I am belittling EVERYTHING God created me to be. I am not using the gifts he has given me. I am not doing everything in my power to create change. We need to be courageous. Step out. [I'm seeing this so clearly in my own life!] When we risk, that's when we'll grow more secure in God's LOVE for us. You don't act unwisely, but with clear guidance, we can move forward from our fearful passivity to faith-filled action. God has our back. And you may not change the entire world, but you'll change the entire world of someone else.

-Like the brainless scarecrow, I keep believing in these lies that are out to destroy me. How easily I believe them without using my brain! That's what it's there for, anyway. We're so intricately designed! We have a brain for a reason. Where has my knowledge been? Perhaps it's been hiding behind the cowardly lion & the heart-less tin man. How have I just let the birds peck away at my entire being without batting an eye? Enough! Use your brain.

Hunk: Now look here, Dorothy, you ain't using your head about Miss Gulch. You'd think you didn't have any brains at all.
Dorothy: I have so got brains.
Hunk: Well, why don't you use them? When you come home, don't go by Miss Gulch's place. Then Toto won't get in her garden, and you won't get in no trouble. See?
Dorothy: Oh Hunk, you just won't listen, that's all.
Hunk: Well, your head ain't made of straw, you know.

And like Dorothy... We can't forget our role here. She got swept up in a twister and is now trying to find her way back home. This land she has been acquainted with is not her home.
Just like us.
We have this identity all our own. We were created in our Father's image; we are called to reflect His glory. So often, we get lost, we can't find our way back home, and we listen to the whispers in the shadows. But don't let it steal your identity! Don't give yourself away. Time and time again, I have to say this to myself. And you know what? We are the princes and princesses of the great King.
Believe it.

Live it.

Tin Woodsman: What have you learned, Dorothy?
Dorothy: Well, I - I think that it - it wasn't enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em - and it's that - 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! Is that right?

"We were made for love. We love because HE first loved us.
It is not only what we do it is WHO WE ARE. Loving becomes us.

Beneath all the lies, you are who you are because HE is who He is.
That, no one can steal from you."

Let's find our way back home together.
Let's work on cultivating out hearts together.
Let's encourage one another to be courageous & not be afraid.
Let's discern the wisdom we have been provided & use it for good.
Let's live a life worthy of the calling we have received.

But don't lose yourself in what you're trying to find. You're already something; Just let yourself shine. [the.photographers]

*[Quotations are taken from the article "The Relational Economy: Identity Theft" http://www.crosswalk.com/singles/11639546/]