After their brief respite in the poppy field, Dorothy and her friends finally arrive at the gleaming Emerald City. It is a happy, carefree place where they can relax, refresh, and refuel. It is a place where they can get some final brush-ups and touch-ups after their long journey.
Then, just when they are ready to see the Wizard and complete their journey, they are reminded that their enemy is still alive and well. The Wicked Witch of the West, the biggest enemy of them all, invades their merriment, writing her demand for surrender across a darkened sky.
With fear and intimidation literally hanging over their heads, they run to the Wizard, hoping he will protect them from the witch and make everything right. But the Wizard is not as benevolent as they had hoped. Instead of protecting them from the Wicked Witch of the West, the Wizard tells them they can’t get what they want until they face her. They are heart broken and frustrated. They thought they had escaped the witch, and now they are told they must face her and bring back her broom stick. In other words, they must defeat her.
You have already journeyed long and hard. You have faced the frightening memories that you have avoided for years. You have not only gained an understanding of how your abuse has affected you, but you have gained some control of the thoughts and reactions that have mystified you for years. You are learning to trust others, and you are getting more comfortable with intimacy…both emotionally and physically. Looking back, you feel you have accomplished a feat comparable to climbing Mt. Everest. You have gotten better.
And though you almost settled for “better,” others encouraged you to push on and complete the journey. Now you feel like you have reached your goal. You finally feel you have arrived.
So the thought that there is one more thing to face can be a frustrating belly-drop…but you still have to face the witch.
The witch is different for different people. It the may be the underlying unfairness of what happened and how the perpetrator has gone unpunished. It could be the abuser(s) and the place they currently have in your heart, head, and life. Maybe the witch you need to face is those who should have known what was going on and protected you. Or it could be the difficult questions about God and His seeming lack of attention and intervention.
Whatever it is, there is no getting around it. You must face your witch once and for all. Otherwise, your witch will still be out there writing threatening messages over your head.