One of the best things about the holidays are the traditions each family builds around the season. We have many traditions that make the season feel like what it is supposed to be – happy, magical, memorable. One of those traditions is, for the month of December, we only watch Christmas movies. Of course, this includes movies like Die Hard and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. If it happens at Christmas or came out at Christmas and has a similar theme then it counts. Out of all the great Christmas movies out there, my favorite is by far “It’s a Wonderful Life”. If you haven’t seen it, stop reading here, go watch it, and then come back and read the rest of this blog. You’ll thank me.

            When I was younger, I think this movie was my favorite because it was a movie I grew up watching with my parents as part of our Christmas traditions. As I got older, it was my favorite Christmas movie because I identified with all the bad things that happen to George Bailey, the main character, and his fight for what is right and good. Just like George, my plans for life were destroyed by unscrupulous and immoral people who only cared about their own well being instead of justice. Just like George, I found ways of rebuilding my life and trying to find new paths to get back to the dreams and plans that were stolen from me. Just like George, I put what was right and good ahead of my own desires time and time again and it cost me time and time again. I didn’t realize it at the time but there was one more similarity between myself and George Bailey – I could only see everything that didn’t go according to plan and therefore couldn’t see all the blessings in front of me. However, it wasn’t the similarities that made me love “It’s a Wonderful Life”; it was the major difference. At the end, everyone comes together to help George in his time of need, his life is restored, and he is thankful for the blessings he has instead of depressed and angry over the way life didn’t turn out as he planned and worked for them to be. This wasn’t a place I thought I might ever reach but it gave me hope.

            Now I love “It’s a Wonderful Life” because I have reached that place and I can see the picture in full. No, a bunch of people didn’t successfully unite together to help me and see justice done. Everything physically in my life stayed the same. Nothing has turned out as I planned or dreamt. What did change is the same thing that changed for George when his eyes were finally opened and he was able to see what a wonderful life he had. Just like George, I reached the end of my rope and I surrendered to God. I don’t mean I chose to follow God in that moment – I’d made that choice a long time ago. Choosing to follow God is a decision. Surrendering to God is a place you arrive when you’ve given life your best efforts and no matter what you’ve done right, something always turns out wrong. People betray you, hurt you. Life throws medical issues at you. Your body breaks. You take care of people and it costs you promotions, raises, and your life plans for the next sixty plus years. Some things you can control a little bit and many you can’t control at all. Surrender is only a place you can arrive and not a choice you can make because it can only be reached when you come to the end of yourself – the end of your intelligence, strength, power, goodness, hard work, anger, etc.

            When you reach the end of yourself and fully surrender, what does change is the pressure of life – the pressure of your dreams, goals, and responsibilities. You can give it all to Him and fully trust Him with them. You can trust that regardless how things turn out, however imperfect, God will either use them to shape you into who you were created to be for His work or to bring more people to Him. You can trust that with Him; nothing past, present, or future is wasted. You can trust Him that no matter the circumstance you will always have what you need (Need not want. Most of the world needs a drastic redefining of what need means.) You can trust when you give your best effort and depend on Him for the rest, it is enough – you are enough. You can trust where you are and what you’re doing is not a mistake and it’s not a failure. You can trust wherever God has you, it’s where you are supposed to be. There is no better place to be than within God’s will.

            Finally your life is not overcast by all those things that did not turn out as you desired and planned. Your life is not devoid of color from all the disappointments and hurts of this life stemming from things you could or couldn’t control. Your view of life isn’t decided by the “big things”. You can see the world in color again. The everyday small things matter again. You can see the vibrant colors of leaves, flowers, and the sky. You can feel the intense touch of the wind blowing through your hair, the sun shining on your skin, and the warmth of a hug. You can hear the beautiful sounds of insects, birds, and the wind moving through the grass and leaves. You can fully experience time with your loved ones – their laughter, conversation, connection, just their presence. I could go on and on. There are so many more “little”, every day things that are beautiful and life giving than there are “big” things in this life. The funny thing is, when you reach this place, the “big” things aren’t even that big anymore. They change because they aren’t defining. The satisfaction of doing what is good for others outweighs the disappointment of what it cost you. You know that if something turns out less than you’d dreamed despite your best efforts, God is still going to use it and it won’t be wasted. He has a different and better plan than yours. It’s ok. Maybe life is a mess because you didn’t give it your best effort and made a lot of bad choices. If you’ve chosen to follow and surrendered to Him – God is going to use it and it also won’t be wasted. He has a plan to even use the mess for something beautiful.

            At the end of the day, if you have the little things that God has blessed all of us with then you have a wonderful life. If your life is cast in shadow as mine was, choose to follow God and when you’ve reached the end of yourself, surrender to Him. He is the creator and bringer of life. He is the one who truly makes life, for all it’s imperfections, wonderful. Allow Him to open your eyes to the beauty of it all.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

-The Old Man