It's a Wonderful Life

One of my favorite movies of all time is Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Following our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion service at Abundant Life Church, our family tradition is to go out to eat and then go home and watch this great classic film. I look forward to it every year.

In the film, Stewart plays George Bailey, who faces a huge financial challenge in his business, through no fault of his own. He gets so depressed he wishes he were never born. An angel named Clarence grants him his wish and George sees what the town and his family and friends would have been like had he never been born.

George is shown how things would have been so different in extremely negative ways, and he repents of his attitude and goes home to his family and appreciates life again.

My annual dose of It's a Wonderful Life helps me keep things in proper perspective. Despite the challenges and difficulties we all face, we have been given many blessings from our Heavenly Father. And Christmas is a wonderful time to acknowledge our gratitude to the One who changed our lives forever by sending Jesus to this earth.

The world would have been very different had George Bailey never been born. It would have been different if you or I had never been born. But think how different it would have been if Jesus had never been born. What a difference He makes! And what wonderful lives we've been given by Him. Let's honor the One who changed our world and changes our lives.