crossing the ditch

This was to be an eventful day for the travelers. They had hardly been walking an hour when they saw before them a great ditch that crossed the road and divided the forest as far as they could see on either side. It was a very wide ditch, and when they crept up to the edge and looked into it they could see it was also very deep, and there were many big, jagged rocks at the bottom. The sides were so steep that none of them could climb down, and for a moment it seemed that their journey must end.

     "What shall we do?" asked Dorothy despairingly.

     "I haven't the faintest idea," said the Tin Woodman, and the Lion shook his shaggy mane and looked thoughtful.

     But the Scarecrow said, "We cannot fly, that is certain. Neither can we climb down into this great ditch. Therefore, if we cannot jump over it, we must stop where we are." (The Wizard of Oz)

As I listened to the children's librarian read aloud this morning about the complex problem of the ditch that loomed ahead of the weary travelers, I could relate. What do we do, anyway, when we come to a ditch? Last night as I lay in bed, I realized that looking ahead to today, I did not have anything clearly laid out for me at all. Out of the school routine and with not a lot of pressing deadlines in other areas of life, our days have been pretty open-ended - which seems like a delightful problem to have but truthfully it just leaves me questioning if I'm fully redeeming my time. Like, should I tackle something big, or is this 10-minute stretch where the kids are playing nicely together just that - a short-lived 10-minutes? Should I add something to my plate, another project, committee, business plan, that would keep me moving ahead? Is there something I could be working ahead on (extremely unlike me, so there's the real indication that I don't have days like this very often) or something that I should be cleaning more thoroughly (also completely unlike me)? Or should I embrace this day for what it is - one rainy day of respite before we dive into the weekend and projects beyond that?

I opted for the latter and as it turns out, our day did clearly unfold. With God-set parameters, we went on a run before the rain came, had some rest time, ended up at the library when I realized that I had been planning to do that anyway (it just wasn't on the calendar), and then, home again and with the rain still coming down, it occurred to me that hot baths for the kids, re-warmed coffee, and a date with the blog was in order.

It was good for me, though, to just open my hands like that last night to God - and to bring it to him again this morning - to ask Him - what do you want this day to be? When there's great ditches in life - gaps of time, gaps in understanding, gaps in my plan, am I willing to just stop and ask: what is the way over this? I really like that the Scarecrow, while he did suggest to stop for the moment, ultimately suggested the plan to keep on going as well. He stated the obvious - that with no clear direction, there was the necessity of a pause. But he also didn't just stop there and use it as an excuse to keep moving forward. Once he was inspired with what to do, he kept moving.

And I think for me, that's life right now. In parenting, in business, and in relationships, it's ok to ask what's next - but once I'm inspired by the Spirit, it's time to keep moving. Not sit around, and question, and wonder if I really heard right. Not to fear what might happen if I take that particular step. But to ride over on the back of the Lion to be used beyond myself.

    "I think I could jump over it," said the Cowardly Lion, after measuring the distance carefully in his mind.

     "Then we are all right," answered the Scarecrow, "for you can carry us all over on your back, one at a time."

     "Well, I'll try it," said the Lion. "Who will go first?"

     "I will," declared the Scarecrow, "for, if you found that you could not jump over the gulf, Dorothy would be killed, or the Tin Woodman badly dented on the rocks below. But if I am on your back it will not matter so much, for the fall would not hurt me at all."

     "I am terribly afraid of falling, myself," said the Cowardly Lion, "but I suppose there is nothing to do but try it. So get on my back and we will make the attempt."

     The Scarecrow sat upon the Lion's back, and the big beast walked to the edge of the gulf and crouched down.

     "Why don't you run and jump?" asked the Scarecrow.

     "Because that isn't the way we Lions do these things," he replied. Then giving a great spring, he shot through the air and landed safely on the other side. They were all greatly pleased to see how easily he did it, and after the Scarecrow had got down from his back the Lion sprang across the ditch again.