So, you seem to have a problem. It appeared to come out of nowhere. Poof! All fire and green smoke. You didn’t see it coming and you didn’t ask for it. Any causal relationship you have with this problem is strictly accidental. But it’s getting real personal - threatening actually. It’s not only going after you but your little dog too.  And other people are running for cover and hiding behind their lollipops. But you’ve tried running before and that hasn’t seemed to do anything but put you in ever increasingly weirder circumstances. And at the moment you wouldn’t know where to run, life has gotten just that weird. What’s a good kid from down home supposed to do?

Listen to the fluffy lady behind you (in you). Sure, she seems as weird as the problem, but she does seem to know what to do. It’s time to get your Glinda on.

Glinda is an attitude. Glinda isn’t useful in every situation, but she comes in handy more often than you’d think. There is some deep situational wisdom here. She has that light laugh. She is queen of the eye roll. She owns the dismissive wave. And you all know her lines “You have no power here! Be Gone before someone drops a house on you!” and to the girl “Hang on to those shoes - they must be very powerful if she wants them so badly!” She is the archon for being relaxed in the face of a threatening situation. Here are her secrets:

1- Know where you are. Know the ground upon which you stand. The great Ancient Warrior Sun Tzu talked a great deal about grounds. He knew it was always unwise to take the fight to someone else’s ground. The transport alone will bankrupt you! The locals are likely to be hostile. Your resources will be limited to what you can carry and your supply lines will be in danger. Better to be patient, and if the threat is real, make them fight it on your ground, on your terms. The Apostle Paul said that after you were armed to the teeth with things like truth and peace,  and integrity that all you had to do was stand still. You will not be moved.  What ground are you on? Is it stable? Do you have deep enough resources? Are the inhabitants your friends? If so, then take a deep breath and smile when trouble shows up. It is not likely to have much depth or staying power.  (Signs that you are not on your own ground - flying monkeys!)

2-  Know that the showy and bilious are often more afraid than you are. Don’t be impressed by the noises and smokes. They are just that - noises and smokes. Those that threaten others are always looking up for that falling house. And boy, do those houses fall. Might be a good idea to step back a bit.

3 -  And then there are those sparkly shoes!  Wow, red glitter becomes you! You didn’t even know you had them, did you? It may take you a while to figure it out, but you have some personal power going on.  Someone equipped you with everything you were going to need in this land. (Spoiler Alert!) You can rescue yourself, any time you want to. All you have to do is remember who you are and where you came from, and what you were created to be, and believe in that, and act on that. You don’t need no wizards or balloons. The Kingdom of Heaven is your rightful home and you can live in it anytime you want to. You can live by its rules, you can reap its benefits.  Yeah, sure, some days you are going to have to leave your ground and take it to the threat. Work in places that don’t acknowledge your rules, work around people who don’t know who they are and what they were created to be. Swat a few monkeys.  But you get to wear your shoes.  Your personal power is portable.  If you lose it, it is because you surrendered it - they can’t take it from you.

So take heart, little one. Most days you can laugh at the bluster. Tell it to go away and it will. You have plenty of time to walk your road and figure things out. You are being watched. Help will come when you need it. Your friends may be goofy, but they are faithful. Home is here, home is now, all you  have to do is own it.

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