Blog 3243 – 09.18.2024
It’s A Wonderful Life
Many people sadly live their lives thinking that their dreams never came true. I ask you to consider for a moment how inaccurate such an evaluation of one’s life truly is. In one of my favorite movies, It’s A Wonderful Life, George Bailey as a young man dreams of going to college, becoming an architect, and building great bridges and tall buildings. He also dreams of traveling all over the world. Instead, George ends up staying in the small town of Bedford Falls and taking over his father’s business the Bailey Savings and Loan where he helps people in his hometown to finance building their own modest homes to escape the clutches of landlord Mister Potter the rich man that owns and controls everything in town except the Bailey Savings and Loan.
Through George’s absent-minded Uncle Billy’s misplacing a $5,000.00 deposit on his way to the bank, the Savings and Loan is short that amount on the books and the bank examiner arrives. George is at his wits end and finds himself on a bridge ready to jump in and end his life. As an answer to George’s own prayer and that of his wife, children, and all who have been touched and uplifted by George’s life an angel is sent to help him through this very troubling time in his life.
Clarence, the Angel Second Class who has not got his wings yet, jumps into the icy river ahead of George knowing that when George sees even a stranger drowning that he will forget about his own troubles and try to rescue someone in trouble. George dives in to save him. As they are drying off by the heater in the bridge tollman’s shack, George is lamenting that perhaps everyone would be better off if he had not been born. Clarence gets the idea of letting George see how wrong he is about that and after getting permission from higher up it is done and George gets to see what a difference his life really has made.
After seeing what it would be like if he had never been born, George is back on the bridge praying to get his life back and the story ends with George’s World War Two Navy pilot Congressional Medal winner brother proclaiming in a toast at a fund raiser where the whole town gathers to bail out the Building and Loan, “To my brother, George Bailey, the richest man in town.”
It really is a wonderful life.
Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White
What A Wonderful Life
theencouragingword 