One of my favorite children’s books is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster. The story begins when a very bored young Milo returns home from school one day to find a tollbooth kit in his room. He quickly assembles it, takes the map offered and drives his toy car through the tollbooth. At once he finds himself in the Land of Expectations. Enjoying the ride he pays no attention and suddenly finds himself in a dreary place called “the Doldrums.” Everything is colorless. Neither thinking nor laughing is permitted, and nothing much happens in this very stagnant place.
While there is a great deal more to the story (I’ll let you read it to find out how it all turns out), it seems to me that the first chapters of The Phantom Tollbooth describe exactly where we find ourselves as this very long Epiphany draws to an end. Christmas has come and gone. Our New Year’s Resolutions and our best intentions have hit brick walls. It seems we have been shoveling snow and breaking up ice damns since forever. Stuck in the Doldrums, we find ourselves agreeing with Milo, “It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time.”
In the Doldrums, we forget the miraculous discovery of Christmas – GOD IS WITH US!!!! As Epiphany unfolds, we continue to catch the glimmers of the truth of God’s transforming love for us. We yearn for the deeper meaning even though we feel sometimes that we, like Milo, are stumbling around in the colorless miasma of life without joy and excitement. What lies underneath “the Doldrums” is the fear of disappointed hope in a yearning we are afraid to name. Yet, we continue to yearn for that meaning in our lives.
The Epiphany season teaches us that what we expected in a Savior is different than who God sent to us. Rather than saving us from our full humanity, the incarnate Jesus invites us to reclaim it- not what we expected. Milo is reminded, "Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens." Our God made flesh is the ultimate revelation of the unexpected - both simpler and way more complicated than we thought we wanted or needed. Because of it, our lives are made meaningful because our humanity is restored. We realize we have been invited into partnership with God in re-creating the world. Our lives become far more than a “waste of time.” But we have to be looking for that truth. Milo is told, "There is much worth noticing that often escapes the eye." But buried under the mounds of snow this winter, it has been hard to notice.
As wise character in The Phantom Tollbooth speaking about meaning and purpose reminds Milo, “You know that it's there, but you just don't know where - but just because you can never reach it doesn't mean that it's not worth looking for.” And that is what the season of Epiphany is about – it is about both our deepest yearning and how we are led to look for it. But unlike Milo, we KNOW where to look. Jesus, the light of the world, still shines –even in the snow. Gradually, as we follow ray by ray, “the Doldrums” becomes filled with light and in that light we see the gift we have been given in Jesus and the gifts our hearts make in response. It is this light that moves us through“the Doldrums.” We may not know what our ultimate destination will look like- and it will be beyond our wildest expectations - but as long as we keep following Jesus, we can be confident we will get there. And just as the days get longer, the light will continue to get brighter and brighter the closer we get.
So here is your assignment for this last week of the Season after the Epiphany. Get yourself a copy of The Phantom Tollbooth. Read it aloud to your kids. Follow the light, as Milo drives his toy car towards it. His arrival at the place of light is miraculous to behold and is one of my favorite images of what it means to co-create with Jesus the Kingdom of God. Let me know what you think!
Grace and peace, Dr.Elizabeth
