Wandering from the Wonderful

If you haven’t sat down to watch a quality movie in a while, grab “It’s a Wonderful life” and prepare to be challenged.

Every year, part of our Christmas traditions includes a Christmas eve church service, followed up by some Chinese food (don’t ask how that all got started), and then pulling up in front of the fireplace while we watch “It’s a Wonderful life.”

Jimmy Stewart’s performance as George Bailey coupled with the world’s best movie plot somehow always seems to put it all in perspective for me. After almost three hours of that old black and white film, I climb the stairs and drop into bed, emotional drained.

Maybe it’s because I can identify with Harry Bailey (George’s father). He reminds me so much of my own dad: selfless, giving, others centered, and basically sacrificing his whole life to help a few people in his small town have a better life (the sign on his wall behind his desk reminds me of one of life’s more important principles….You can only take with you that which you give away). So true.

Then again, it might be the miracle of all of George’s friends coming to the rescue at the end of the film after Uncle Billy inadvertently misplaces thousands of dollars. It’s the law of reaping what you sown It’s also the principle of how God uses ordinary people to accomplish modern day miracles. There’s some good theology in this movie.

George was a dreamer. George had plans. More than once, George gave up the rights to what “he was going to do” in order to help others (Humm….where have I heard that one before?).

In the end, he was able to see how significant his life truly was. At times, he thought he hadn’t done much. He wondered about what life could have been had he got outside the city limits of Bedford Falls. He even thought he might be more valuable dead than alive.

As I hit my pillow tonight, I am thankful for the gift of life. I want to make sure that I don’t wander too far from the life that is Wonderful.

Clarence got his wings, George got perspective on his life, and all of his friends had the opportunity to ‘give back” The best part of the film is the final scene where everyone sings, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

God and sinners reconciled….that’s a Wonderful Life.