What Married Couples Can Learn From The Wizard of Oz
Like a marriage, The Wizard of Oz is full of history, special moments, reasons to celebrate and meaningful lessons learned. Both have noted milestone anniversaries. The Wizard of Oz recently celebrated its 75th year – now that’s longevity! If we want our marriage to have that kind of staying power, we can take a lesson or two from this classic tale.
- Everyday is not in technicolor. There will be times that seem dull – plain old black and white. But we need those quieter times to truly appreciate the beauty of full-blown color.
- Dropping a house on someone causes a lot of trouble. That, of course, is the marital equivalent of putting the other in their place when you can show them just how right you are on a disputed topic. Sure there’s
a moment of satisfaction. And the legs look funny sprawled out under it. But after that high-fiving moment, there’s a whole lot of drama which doesn’t always end happily-ever-after. It’s not good for the dropper, it’s not good for the dropee, it’s not good for the house. - Just because the road is shiny, doesn’t mean it goes to a good place. This is right up there with the old cliche “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” When the fact of the matter is, the grass is greener where it gets watered more. We need to spend our time watering our own lawns – appreciating our spouses and what we have – and not get distracted by the beauty of a yellow-brick-road that leads us astray.
- A loud voice can come from a small person. The boom of the Wizard’s voice made him seem important, wise, worthy of awe even while he was being disrespectful. But behind the curtain was a little man – an insecure man. His behavior almost cost him the respect and friendship of those who sought him out – the very people he
was trying to impress. Being domineering, puffing up, speaking in a belittling way have no place in a marriage. - Things aren’t always what they seem to be. Most of us think of Glenda the Good Witch as young and beautiful and The Wicked Witch as old and ugly. In real life, “Glenda” was 54 and “Wicked” was 36. How the package is wrapped isn’t always an indicator of what’s inside. Keep it real with each other. If you have an issue that needs to be addressed, covering it with sparkles and bubbles may look pretty and impress the other, but it doesn’t get the problem solved. Remember: sparkles get messy and bubbles burst.
- We’re less than we can be without love. It’s what we started with. We need to kindle and nurture that love – offering it to our spouse generously, receiving it from our spouse graciously with joy. It’s not to be taken for granted – not everybody has it.
- The brain is as important as the heart. If we expect our marriage to last until-death-we-do-part, there are going to be some moments where we’re not feeling very loving toward the other. That’s where the ol’ brain has to kick in. We continue to honor the commitment with our ability to think rationally about the big-picture – and the
consequences of acting in a way that’s inconsistent with that commitment. - Courage takes you through the hard times. And if you think because of your love for each other things will never be “hard,” you must be living over the rainbow where the bluebirds are flying. There will be tough times. Whether emotionally, physically, spiritually, or some combination, there will be challenges. And they might be scary to the point where you truly wonder if you can push through. Courage happens when you’re afraid and you do it anyway. On the other side of those challenges is often a deeper marital bond, a marriage with strength and character.
- Lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) are no match for a united team. On their own, a girl, a scarecrow, a tin man and a cowardly lion may have gotten eaten alive by the perils of their journey – but together they made quite a team! When a husband and wife stand united in their purpose of prioritizing their marriage, even evil flying monkeys can’t drive a wedge between them!
- There’s no place like home – and it’s always been there.
For some interesting trivia about the movie, check out 75 Weird Wonderful Facts About the Wizard of Oz by clicking (three times will not be necessary) the picture below!
Do you by chance have more to these wizard of oz lessons or even maybe a video series we could purchase. I am a pastor of a church and we are doing an upcoming marriage retreat and would love to incorporate this into our weekend teachings.
Hi, Patrick – thanks for your inquiry. I’ve sent a response to your email address. Shel
You did a great job with this. Very creative to think of all those comparisons. This was a wonderful and very relatable analogy. Janice
Thanks, Janice! I’ve enjoyed our exchanges!
I just gained a new appreciation for one of my all-time favorite movies. I love “the grass is greener where it gets watered more.” Wise post, Shel.
Thanks, Kim! Great to “see” you!
Wonderful job of linking this movie to our marriages. Such good points, all of them. And the issue of: “the grass is greener where it gets watered more” is so true. People invest a lot of energy wishing for something more when where they should be directing that energy is on what they already have. (Not always, of course. There are always exceptions.)
True about those exceptions, Carrie – if one is busier lobbing fertilizer than watering, time to reevaluate! Hope you’re having a technicolor day!
I can’t say I ever thought of the Wizard of Oz as a model for marriage, but this all makes perfect sense. I have a few of these to work on this week… *hangs head*
Don’t we all, Lisa?! Hope today is in technicolor!
Haha! I love your creativity, Shel! I think the thing that stood out most to me is the brain is as important as the heart. Thank you for that reminder! Our brain has a lot of power in our thoughts and action which in return does effect our hearts.
Thank you for linking up with us over at True Agape’s Monthly Motivation Link Up!
Sad to say, I have witnessed a lot of under-use of the brain as emotions run away with people in my line of work, Cassie. It can be a tough balance.
I appreciate the opportunity to connect with your linkup – thanks! Hope you both have a great week!
Shel, this is a great blog! I’m sending it to several of our young couple friends. Wisdom comes from above and you certainly have God’s wisdom showered on you.
DiAne
Thank you, DiAne – I always appreciate your encouraging words!
This is one of your most amazing posts, Shel. Fabulous comparisons!
Thanks, Natine – as always, your insight is important to me. I’m thinking of taking on a song next – maybe Georgy Girl??
This is great stuff, Shel! Not only is The Wizard of Oz one of my all time favorite movies, but the correlations you drew from the movie are right on. Loved it! “Keep it real”…that’s so important.
I agree, Jill – it’s so sad to come across couples that have each played their roles so well, they wake up one day and realize they don’t even know each other! Enjoy your weekend – hope there’s more sun up your way than we’ll be getting here!
It’s a wonderful analogy Shel – just had to leave a note to tell you so! Thought it might tickle you to know that I try to live so that every day has the potential to hold a moment of magic when I am able to say ‘Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.’ 🙂
It does tickle me to know that you create magical moments each day, Pauline – but it doesn’t surprise me! Hope you have a wonderful – and magical – weekend!
This KS girl loved this blog… After all, ” sprinkles are messy & bubbles burst”
– always !
And both can make SUCH a mess! Glad you liked it Tricia – there IS no place like home!
This is one of your all-time best, Shel. Being from Kansas and therefore raised on both the OZ books and movies, I totally appreciate the phrases and lessons you connect to couples.
Thank you!
High praise from a long-time teacher, Marylin – thank you!
You know, I never thought of The Wizard of Oz that way, but it makes a lot of sense. I love the technicolor analogy.
Thanks, Marisa. I made sure to include the flying monkeys so you wouldn’t be disappointed!