We are so excited to be back for our 17th production here at OLV and look forward to the continued growth of the program as well as the children and community it serves. The film The Wizard of Oz (1939) is over 80 years old! Many in the audience remember the days before home video, when you could only catch this film on TV once each year. It was so exciting to anticipate it and then see it in action. The whole family would sit together and watch it. This production is therefore our tribute to the all-time classic movie we used to wait for as kids.
It is important that each show we produce contains a Christian message. As we examine the story of The Wizard of Oz, we must look beyond the witches, wizards and fantasy of it all to find the underlying theme that Dorothy learned throughout her journey. As Dorothy sings “Over the Rainbow”, she is dreaming of a better place. Christians realize that place is with our Heavenly Father, and we believe that the only way to get there is to receive Jesus into our hearts and lives and follow after Him. Dorothy doesn’t have that same realization. She is looking to other things that look better over the fence, but in the end, she finds that they do not satisfy her needs inside.
We also find that Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are busy hustling and bustling to keep the farm in order and trying to chase after the material things in life, constantly worrying about the “what if’s” that we often face as adults. This is similar to Martha in the Bible who was so busy working around the house that she ignored Jesus when He came to visit. Their priorities were upside down because they had taken their eyes away from what mattered most. It took the tragedy of a tornado to shake things up and realign Aunt Em’s and Uncle Henry’s perspectives. Dorothy had to discover the pitfalls that often accompany the greener grass on the other side of the fence in order to come to the realization that she has all that she needs already.
The story closes with her iconic phrase, “There’s no place like home!” which is her realization that all of the colorful wonders and glamorous riches of the world could not replace the joy that she finds in her loved ones at home on the farm. Jesus put it a little differently and directly in Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” In other words, keep your focus on God and His will for your life and everything else will fall into place.
This is easier said than done. We so often get caught up with life...running the kids to every possible thing, putting 110% into our jobs and careers, having the best home, the newest phones and devices, and keeping up socially on all fronts. All the while, we have lost the ability to sit in quiet and pray, or have devoted family time around the dinner table together after saying ‘grace’. We put the things that really matter on the back burner while allowing less meaningful things distract us. Let’s not wait for a tragedy to strike in order to get priorities straight. Sit with your family at dinner without the devices. Pray together and make time for each other. Talk to God and seek out what He wants from you and your life. Only then will you truly feel like you are “home”.
Enjoy the show and remember... There’s no place like home!
