Oh the Places You (might not) Go

I was recently reading "Oh the Places You'll Go" to my niece, Emily, and remembered what a genius Dr. Seuss really was. His words of encouragement are catchy, fun, humbling, and true. I'm sure Jesus had some pretty sweet rhymes too, they just didn't get recorded. I have been inspired and encouraged by both of these men and it would probably do me some good to learn more about who they were and how they were able to produce such encouraging words.

Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don' t
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I think it's important to be built up by others and to have great expectations for our lives, but the reality is that we won't always be happy and we certainly won't always be on top of the mountain. No one ever promised us that, and if they did, they were lying. What we are promised is hope and a fulfilling future.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future."

I forget this a lot. When everything hits the fan (usually because I threw it up there myself) it's easy for me to forget that even though I mess up, even though I might take a longer route than most, these promises are still for me. My friend Emily reminded me of God's love today - it doesn't stop, ever, no matter how much we throw at the fan. It's hard for me to imagine this love, since I love my nuggets more than anything else in this world but start to think of ways to drug them when they wake me up at 6am every day. "Aunt Merry, can I color? Can I watch cartoons?" asks Emily. "Aunt Merry, EVERYONE is awake except for you," says Zachary. "A slight dose of NyQuil...." thinks Aunt Merry. Then I get a kiss like this, and the "unconditional" love quickly returns.


A good friend of mine is losing her Grandpa to cancer. This is her first encounter with losing someone she loves. Both Dr. Seuss and God have something to say about this.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.

Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
.
.
.
Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

Romans 8:38
For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
.
.
.
will be able to separate us from the love of God.

I'm not the best at balancing things in my life. Life is not a rollercoaster, it's more like a pendulum, or the swinging pirate ship at the fair. The ups last longer than the downs and you get a big stomach ache somewhere in-between, but the laws of gravity (and God) promise that we will keep swinging.

So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.