It's a Wonderful Life

"I want to live again! Please God, let me live again." I've listened to George Bailey say those words multiple times over the last couple of days. Even though I'm ashamed to admit that last year was the first year I had ever watched It's a Wonderful Life all the way through. Apparently, this Saturday night when it came on all members of my family were watching it. Me in Franklin, my brother and his wife, for the first time through as well, at their home in Nashville. My parents, for the first time through, at their home in Camden, SC and my brother and his wife , not sure if it was their first time, at their home in Lexington, SC. So the entire clan was listening as George leaned over the iron railing of the bridge and told God he wanted to live again.

It made me wonder how many times God hears those words. Probably not as often as he hears the desperate pleas of many to take them away from their pain. But George had the benefit you and I have never had. George was given the ability to see what life would have been like without him.

Now, I'm no big deal. Trust me, I'm very aware of who I am. But I asked myself as I turned the television off, "What would have been lost if I had never been born?" Granted my two brother's would have had a much more peaceful life, but would the world miss me? That took me to an even bigger question. "Am I living to my greatest potential."

I remember having my own George Bailey moment many months ago, except I wasn't hanging over a railing, I was probably face down in the carpet. Even though I had lived the best I knew, I also was very aware that there was a level of living that I had never known. Truly embracing life. Enjoying it. Laughing through it. Crying through it if needed. But living it and making no apologies for it.

For those of you who have walked with me over this past year together you know that has been the message of my heart. Life is about living. And in the living we're called to do are we reaching our potential? Are we impacting lives or taking up space? Are we contributing, growing, learning, thriving, or are we moaning, complaining, and settling.

There could have been a world without us. But there wasn't. Why? Because God knew that the world needed us. You and I were created because heaven saw value in our living. Not our existing. But in our living. So go out there and live! Enjoy this holiday season. Grab friends and walk through the packed mall. Enjoy that piece of pumpkin pie with no regrets. Go to a Christmas Musical and let the music lift your soul. Turn the radio on in the car and sing those Christmas songs to the top of your lungs. Love someone who seems unlovely. Feed someone who is hungry. Risk giving your heart away to someone who wants to love you in return even though someone didn't protect it in the past. Sit around the table with your family and talk about what life means because you've walked it with each other. And watch It's a Wonderful life for the first time or the 50th. And when you watch George discover what life would have been like without him, take a moment to think about what life would have been like without you.

Because it wouldn't be the same...And Clarence might not have gotten his wings...