Dorothy Had It Right

Many times I have wondered, "what is on the other side of the rainbow?" but I never got a real answer. I fear that we, as humans, will never understand just what is on the other side. All we can do is follow in Dorothy's example and dream of the wonders that await us. For her, there lies a paradise where she escapes all the sadness and problems of the world. For some, it may be a place where there is no pain. For some, it is a place where there is peace and safety from harm.

As a Christian, I can only imagine the wonders that await me on the other side. I imagine it is a place where there is no pain, no suffering, no tears, no death, and above all, no sin. I believe that God has promised this to me, and I can't wait.

recently, I began feeding the birds by scattering bird seed around my yard and I also placed little groups of peanuts around for the squirrel that lives in the forest around our house. A few hours later, I glanced outside the window and saw a large flock of pale gray winter birds hopping around the yard pecking at the ground and the squirrel was running around finding the peanuts I had put out for him.

As I watched, a group of Robins flew in and began scaring off the little winter birds and eating all the food. The winter birds flew up into the trees to await a few pieces of seeds in order to sate their appetite once the robins were finished. After a while though, it seemed as though karma caught up with the Robins and a flock of Blue Jays came in and scared them off to begin feeding.

As the blue birds chirped happily, a lone winter bird glided down to the ground and began eating. The blue birds did nothing and let him eat. Soon enough, a few more winter birds came down and began eating, and a few more, until nearly all the winter birds were feeding along side the large and intimidating Blue Jays.

Now you are probably wondering why the heck I am talking about birds eating, but I feel like this is a great analogy of what God does for us through his son Jesus. Satan and other people around us are constantly putting us down through stealing, murdering, bullying, and many other methods. Many times we feel as if there is now hope and we run away to where we feel safest; our homes, a quiet or secret place, your church, or anywhere you feel protected from the outside world.

However, it is to my understanding that we as Christians do not need to run away from challenges and threats that surround us. All we need to do is realize that God will fight away evil from our path and will stay with us and protect us, just like the Blue Jays did for the small winter birds. We can also seek guidance from God to help prevent evil from hurting others through showing love, kindness, and gentleness. Jesus taught us to do all of this things in the Sermon of the Mount, and I believe that on the other side of the rainbow, all will behave this way and we will constantly be kept under the gentle wing of our father.

I think that in 'The Wizard of Oz' Dorothy, a poor farm girl from Kansas who is oppressed by a witch of a woman and sometimes her own Auntie M, had it right when she began to dream about what might be over the rainbow. She may not have had the best attitude at times (no one ever does) but I believe we should always follow in her footsteps and dream about the better place that awaits us somewhere over the rainbow.