My song today is the Tin Man by America. My son Skyler used to make fun of me for loving this group. He thought I was a nerd. This song is a favorite simply because the lyrics resonate w me. The tin man was a character in the wizard of oz. As you no the Wizard of Oz is the story of Dorothy who finds herself hiding in her room during a tornado. The tornado lifts her house and she’s caught in the eye of the tornado. Ultimately her home lands in the Land of Oz on top of the Wicked Witch of the East killing her. Her mean sister wants to kill Dorothy but The good witch appears and puts the witches ruby red slippers on Dorothy telling her to follow the yellow brick road where she will find Oz and he will send her home. On the way she meets the lion (he wants courage) the tin man (he wants a heart) and the scarecrow (he wants a brain). Together they travel this journey following the yellow brick road despite the many challenges along the way. They arrive at the end of their journey. Facing Oz is scary but as it turns out Oz is just a little old man who is harmless. Oz gives Dorothy and her crew what they already had. In other words, Oz didn’t have the power. The power was within themselves. Dorothy always had the ability to go home. The lion already had courage, the tin man had heart and the scarecrow had a brain. Such is life. Sometimes we find ourselves in the tornado of life. We lack courage, brains and a heart to stay on the yellow brick road moving forward until we finally reach the end of the journey and the challenge is over. It’s not easy but we make it. We look back & realize we had courage, brains & a heart all along. The question is how did we use those God given gifts. Were we determined & never gave up? Did we use our brain to make good choices & was our heart filled with love for ourselves but more importantly others or was it filled w fear resentment, grief, worry? The moral is there’s always an end to the story. As we travel the journey it’s important we use the gifts given to us in a positive way. Have courage in everything you do. Use your brain to make good choices and always have a heart filled w love not only for yourself but for others. In life we pray for courage to get through each day. We pray for wisdom to make the right choices and often times we pray for love. The truth is we are praying for what we already have. We just have to find these gifts within ourself. My prayer for those reading this today is that if you’re facing a challenge you will recognize the courage you already have to get through it. You will use your “brain” to make wise choices and you will have a heart filled with love not only for yourself but for others.