reverse veruca

For most of today the song “I Want it Now” from the Willy Wonka soundtrack played over and over in my head. Which helped me to realize that my inner Veruca Salt has been getting quite the workout lately, or more accurately it’s a sort of “Reverse Veruca.”

Right before she’s judged to be a bad egg by Willy Wonka’s eggdecator, Veruca sings (in part):

"Gooses! Geeses!
I want my geese to lay gold eggs for Easter
At least a hundred a day
And by the way …
I want today
I want tomorrow
And if I don't get the things I am after
I'm going to scream!"

As we enter Holy Week, I’m realizing that I’ve been wanting my geese to lay gold eggs for Easter rather than the duds they’ve been laying .. figuratively speaking of course. It’s not that I want it all now, it’s just that I don’t want what I’ve been getting. My last few weeks has been filled with the unwanted of all shapes and sizes. And whereas Veruca sings …

"I want the works
I want the whole works
Don't care how
I want it now "
(Or more accurately, I want it noooooooooooooooooow as she falls down the garbage chute to the incinerator)

… it’s not so much that I want it now, but rather in my reverse Veruca mood I don’t want what I have now. I just want it all to go away and things to be happy and simple and fun and easy. If that makes any sense.

But is that anyway to go into Holy Week – either demanding what we want right now not caring how or whining and complaining to God that you don’t want what you are getting in abundance? A Veruca mood … regular or reverse … is not very conducive to living in the moment. And it’s certainly not the way to enter Holy Week.

This led me to what I am sure is a very sacrilegious moment, where I imagined the Oompa Loompas following behind Jesus as he carried his cross … singing one of their silly yet profound songs.

Rather than trying to wish my reality away or whine and complain that life is so hard, I think I’m being invited through this bizarre reflection to take up my cross and follow Christ. In the end I will indeed live in happiness too. Like the Oompa Loompa doompadee doo.