Something More

“You’ve always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”

Glinda – The Wizard of Oz

You’ve Always Had the Power

1. “The Wizard of Oz” is one of my favorite movies.  I used to watch it every year as a kid.  Now we own it.  I don’t watch it every year anymore, but the truths behind the story are so simple, yet powerful.  Dorothy is on a journey to find something more without considering what she already had.
2. When Glinda said this quote to Dorothy, The Wizard/Professor Marvel’s hot air balloon had just taken off without Dorothy.  He was supposed to be taking her home.  She now feels like she is stuck in Oz forever and she’s, understandably, freaking out.  Glinda tells Dorothy she doesn’t need help to get home because she’s always had the ability to get there.  Glinda didn’t tell her this in the beginning because Dorothy wouldn’t have believed her if she had told her then.  Dorothy was unhappy with being in Kansas and didn’t appreciate all she had there.  No one could have told her otherwise, unless she figured it out for herself.  When she did figure it out, she ended up back home (OK, the magic ruby slippers played a big part in the going home thing – oh, yeah, it also helped to wake up from the coma (unconsciousness) she was in after the tornado that actually gave her time to have the dream and work through her thoughts –  uhoh, um, sorry…I guess I forgot to say SPOILER ALERT!)
3. I don’t think Dorothy was wrong in wanting something more or different.  I think that’s part of life where we all want something new in our lives – to not have the same or similar things over and over.  We need or want to be challenged or to learn something new.  I think the real problem came from wanting something more without also appreciating all she had.
4. When we become obsessed with having more or a different life, those we have in our lives become almost like intrusions and we can start to getting very irritated with everyone around us.  We take it and them for granted and even, sometimes, as a bother or a weight keeping us from “what we really want”.
5. However, when we start looking for something more, we can easily forget how much we had until it’s too late.  In researching to write this post, I found several studies showing that at least half of the people who left their spouses regretted it later.  I couldn’t believe it when I read that many were unhappy in their jobs at the time of leaving (if the one leaving was a man) and they felt if they couldn’t leave their job to “better” their lives, they could leave their spouse – wow! – sorry…just…wow!  (this is from the website Runaway Husbands).  When you look for something more, you have to take into account what and who you’ll leave behind as well as the damage that will follow.
6. The grass is always greener on the other side just isn’t true.  Every single person and family has their own issues and problems.  Comparing ourselves to others will either lead to dissatisfaction or arrogant pride.
7. Something to consider is that very likely, there are others who look at you and wish to have your life.  They, most likely, have no idea what your life is like unless you’ve shown them.  That’s what I see as a problem with sites like Facebook where people tend to show all the positives in their lives and very little, if any, of the hard times.  There are honestly a few people I have seen on Facebook that seem to be nearly walking on water because they only post the good things in their life.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the positives, but it’s not a representation of real life if that’s all that’s shown.  You can’t really get to know someone if you only see one side of their life.
8. The other thought that comes to mind with this quote is that it’s important to remember what we have and what we can do.  When we keep everything in perspective and remember the strengths and positives during the hard times, it’s easier to actually make it through those times.  When I lived with abuse for so many years of my life, the knowledge that God was walking with me through it all made it all tolerable.  I couldn’t be destroyed.  I held on to the promise in John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  For some reason, the abusers in my life did everything they could to break and control me, but God always had me in the palms of His hands and He told me repeatedly how much He loved me.  That’s how I have power and am at home – in Him!  There’s (definitely) no place like home.

~ Joanna Lynn