"A toast to my big brother, George — the richest man in town."
-Harry Bailey, It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is by far my favorite Christmas movie.
Most of you know the story but just in case you don't... "This is director Frank Capra's classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey (James Stewart),
the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American
small town of Bedford Falls. As the film opens, it's Christmas Eve,
1946, and George, who has long considered himself a failure, faces
financial ruin and arrest and is seriously contemplating suicide. High
above Bedford Falls, two celestial voices discuss Bailey's dilemma and
decide to send down eternally bumbling angel Clarence Oddbody,
who after 200 years has yet to earn his wings, to help George out. But
first, Clarence is given a crash course on George's life, and the
multitude of selfless acts he has performed: rescuing his younger
brother from drowning, losing the hearing in his left ear in the
process; enduring a beating rather than allow a grieving druggist
to deliver poison by mistake to an ailing child; foregoing college and a
long-planned trip to Europe to keep the Bailey Building and Loan from
letting its Depression-era customers down; and, most important,
preventing town despot Potter from taking over Bedford Mills and reducing its inhabitants to penury.
Along the way, George has married his childhood sweetheart Mary (Donna Reed),
who has stuck by him through thick and thin. But even the love of Mary
and his children are insufficient when George, faced with an $8000
shortage in his books, becomes a likely candidate for prison thanks to
the vengeful Potter. Bitterly, George declares that he wishes that he
had never been born, and Clarence, hoping to teach George a lesson,
shows him how different life would have been had he in fact never been
born. After a nightmarish odyssey through a George Bailey-less Bedford
Falls (now a glorified slum called Potterville), wherein none of his
friends or family recognize him, George is made to realize how many
lives he has touched, and helped, through his existence; and, just as
Clarence had planned, George awakens to the fact that, despite all its
deprivations, he has truly had a wonderful life." -http://www.fandango.com/itsawonderfullife_v25590/plotsummaryI have to admit, there's just something about George Bailey that speaks to my heart. I think it is because he reminds me so much of my own husband.
Here's what I mean.
My husband is the most selfless person I know. He very often sets aside his own wants, dreams, desires & sometimes sleep to care for others. On the other hand, living this way can be discouraging. I think perhaps it's easier to measure 'success' when you are building a building... a church building for example. There is a clear start... from approving the drafts of the architect, to the breaking of ground, the pouring of footings, framing & erecting walls, & a clear finish with carpeting & paint & lighting & furniture. It can be challenging to see this kind of progress when you are building relationships & investing in the lives of people.
Now don't misunderstand me. I would never in a million years choose to have a different life & I certainly wouldn't change what my husband does or who he is. We are truly blessed beyond measure.
Ah yes... now back to the movie...
As we watched it this year, I was struck by something I saw briefly in George's office at the Building & Loan...
There’s a sign under his father's picture that says “All you can take with you is that which is given away.”
In a culture where success is measured by how much money you make, what kind of house you live in, what kind car you drive, what kind of vacations you take & even what you spend on Christmas, this is a profoundly encouraging statement.
This holiday season I pray that no matter what you do, where you go & what you spend, that you will consider this...
What kind of relationships have you built?
Who have you invested your life in?
In a culture where success is measured by how much money you make, what kind of house you live in, what kind car you drive, what kind of vacations you take & even what you spend on Christmas, this is a profoundly encouraging statement.
This holiday season I pray that no matter what you do, where you go & what you spend, that you will consider this...
What kind of relationships have you built?
Who have you invested your life in?
Who would be most impacted if you’d never been born?
"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
-Jesus, John 15:12 & 13
