…Start with your friends. Each one is a blessing.
Two of my all-time favorite holiday stories are Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” and the classic film, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In a lot of ways, both movies share a similar central idea. In the case of Christmas Carol, I think people tend to miss the lesson Scrooge learns in the story. He doesn’t go through his ghostly ordeal just to come out of it thinking “I need to be nice” or even “I need to be charitable.” Those ideas are merely the results of what Scrooge really learns. The real lesson for Scrooge is in learning the joy of being with those you love. Remember that Scrooge had cast aside the woman of his dreams, had spurned his nephew’s invitation to come to Christmas dinner, and had scoffed at treating Bob Cratchit like a partner and friend. But at the end, he learns that life is about living it with people you love, and so he spends Christmas morning being around them, laughing and living life with love.
In the case of It’s a Wonderful Life, I can summarize the lesson George Bailey learns with just two quotes from the film. First, there’s this: “Each man’s life touches so many other lives. And when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” Second, George is told this: “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.”
Those who have little, but who have loved ones, actually have a lot. And those with more money than they could ever hope to spend, but no one to spend their time with, actually have nothing at all. Blessings aren’t always easy to see, but look for your friends and count them one by one. Each one is a gift given by God.
Thank the Lord for them.
~ Matthew