DISTORTION

My brother and I had fun sitting a penny on a railroad track just to watch it flatten when a train ran over it (I never saw it derail the train). Have you ever seen one flattened out?  It becomes an oval instead of  a circle….something other than what it was created for… still copper(distorted today with zinc)… but no longer able to maintain its purchasing power…although we never attempted to use it in that way!

There are machines that flatten out pennies for souvenirs, engraved for whatever commemoration you could ever want …so I hope you don’t turn me into the authorities for distorting money…it’s all legal….I think…I hope!!!

 Are we sometimes like that penny on the railroad track flattened out and distorted by circumstances and  choices we make in life… sometimes looking at ourselves, and not even recognizing who we have become? I picked up a penny yesterday in a parking lot. It was nicked, battered and fragmented along the edges. In spite of its condition, I would still be able to use it as legal tender. I picked it up and felt its “roughness”, and reflected on my own distortion…yet still usable by a gracious God.

A while ago I read a book titled, “Wicked”, by Gregory Maguire. It’s a “distortion” of the wicked witch from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (the classic children’s book written from Dorothy’s perspective by L. Frank Baum).  “Wicked” is not a book written for children, since it deals with distorted adult themes. It is about Elphaba…the other wicked witch …who came into this world under less than perfect circumstances, the foibles, and misadventures she encountered.  I was given tickets to the Broadway play and wanted to more fully understand the background and plot. The music, costuming, special effects, and significance danced in my head, long after the performance ended.

Most of us disliked the wicked witch described by Dorothy… Through the eyes of another observer we began to learn more about the wicked witch’s sister, Elphaba. To our amazement she became the beloved green witch, spiteful yet humble, spiny yet compassionate, smart and insightful. The book and play had you fall in love with her. Isn’t that what happens when we get to know someone, and don’t rely on our own distorted judgments, or those of others.

The penny was created as legal tender!  I have distorted this original legal tender to become a symbol of God’s benevolence. Could we change the world if we “distorted “each coin in every country…to have it represent God’s benevolence and pass it on to others one coin at a time?

See you next time...God willing! God bless!