Embracing the Wonderful

What we choose to focus on in life, is a choice.

I had the opportunity to watch the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” over the weekend. It’s my daughter’s favorite Christmas movie and perhaps one of the best movies ever made. As usual, she and I were crying like babies at the final scene.

She commented during the movie, that the only thing she doesn’t like about it, is we never get to see the villain, Mr. Potter, get what’s coming to him. I completely understand her point. Although he’s mean-spirited throughout the film, towards the end, he’s a criminal. He takes money that isn’t his and then tries to have George Bailey arrested.

Most of us know by heart, the verse from Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” We want to see Potter get justice.

We love the idea of good always winning, but in the movie, good does win, just not in the way George Bailey had in mind.

Every time Mr. Potter tried to knock George down, something good came of it. When he insisted that George not see the world and stay home to run the family business, George married the love of his life. When he tried to put George out of business when there was a run on the bank, George used his own hard earned money to convince people not to panic and keep the doors of the savings and loan open.

That selfless act planted seeds of mercy and compassion in the hearts of  the townspeople that would sprout much later in the movie when he desperately needed them.

And when George’s hour was the darkest, Mr. Potter kicked him one more time and he decided to take his own life. Meanwhile, the entire town prayed for him. God listened and sent an angel and George decided he wanted to live even if he was going to jail for a crime he did not commit.

But, there was more intervention going on too. (There always is.)  All of those kindnesses and mercies that George had been spreading for all of those years sprouted that night and just about everyone in town showed up at his house on Christmas Eve, with money to donate to replace what was stolen.

While we didn’t get to see Mr. Potter get his, it never was about Potter anyway. The story was about George. The story was about him doing the right thing, even though things never went like he planned or wanted them to go. The story was about him learning to embrace the life that he was given and the people who God entrusted to him.

His story is our story. Very often in life, things do not go like we plan and all Christians have a common enemy who likes to knock us down. But, if we keep our eyes focused on God and not our own Mr. Potter, and continue to sow seeds of kindness, mercy and love, they will eventually sprout, just as George’s did. God will grow something beautiful with all of our perceived failures and weaknesses if we allow Him to.

Who knows, He may send us angels too; the Bible tells us we may have even entertained them and not know it. There’s a lot of negativity to focus on in life. There always is; but focusing on God and all of the good He gives us, is a choice, one we are free to make.

George Bailey reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂