It's a Wonderful Life

traditions are fun. well, i think so anyway. combining families brings an interesting dynamic to traditions.  there's the traditions ben grew up with. then, there's the traditions i grew up with.  then, there's me loving traditions and wanting to have our own together.  

for the past several years, my side of our family has had this Christmas Eve tradition.  

we order Chinese food.

we go to church.

we eat Chinese food.

we watch It's a Wonderful Life.

and it's awesome.

if you know me well, you know i love the movie It's a Wonderful Life.  i take after my dad in this.  i get something new from it every time i watch it, which is annually if you've been paying attention ;)  a lot of people don't like this movie.  granted, it's lengthy.  and you have to listen really closely to Jimmy Stewart's quickly-shouted speeches.

my all-time favorite quotes [at least for now] are:

My mouth's bleeding?  Burt! My mouth's bleeding... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!   - George Bailey


[if i'm not already crying by that part, the floodgates open there.]


A toast to my brother George, the richest man in town.  - Harry Bailey
Daddy, teacher says, every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.  - Zuzu Bailey

here's the thing.  there's a lot of talk about the economy these days, so the movie seems particularly relevant.  and financial crisis is very real to a lot of people. i pointed that out last night, to which my uncle responded

"yeah, but not everybody is gonna jump off a bridge."
my dad said quietly: "i thought about it... i thought about it."
so, i asked my dad: "when did you first see this movie?"
dad: "on t.v. when we were living in wilmette.  we were $40,000 dollars in debt and there was no way out."
me: "good timing, huh?"
dad: "ya."

(i could give you a lot more background on my parents' early years of marriage and financial crises but i'll save that for another time.)

let's just say - the Lord is good.  and He is faithful to do above and beyond all we can ask or imagine. and that is a very real, tangible truth to my family. and because of Jesus, life is worth living.  because God is the Great Provider that can provide in miraculous ways (like, in George Bailey's case, the whole town bringing you all their savings because you lost $8,000 and you're going to jail), life is worth living.  but it's more than money.  money is such a small thing.  George Bailey realized he was created with a purpose.  his life mattered.  he influenced lots of people.  God created me with a purpose too. and you.  we were created with the purpose to glorify God, yet we are born with the problem of sin.  God provided the ultimate solution to the biggest problem.  He provided Jesus on the first Christmas.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord."  

i need a Savior.  you need a Savior. and because of this Savior who is Christ the Lord, life is wonderful. it's worth living.

Merry Christmas!

p.s. if you haven't seen It's a Wonderful Life in a while... try again.