For years now, my favorite Christmas movie has been "It's a Wonderful Life." It's not just a cute movie, or a feel-good movie to me. From the first time I ever saw it, there was a profound message there that seemed to be meant for me personally. I never questioned the "why" of it - I just always enjoyed watching it several times during the Christmas season. It seems deeply significant to me that an ordinary guy can have his dreams repeatedly put on hold, then find one day that the life he was living was the very one that would ultimately save him, because he was in the right place, and more importantly, doing the right thing all along.
I didn't watch it this year. I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and see it again. We have had many, many blessings in our lives - always. But in November, a Mr.-Potter-like situation came along and broadsided us. The week before it happened, Rick was told that he would be taking a significant cut in pay. When he shared that with me, I took a deep breath and whispered a prayer in which I asked for one thing only - that I wouldn't have any fear. Faith and fear cannot co-exist, and I would rather opt for faith.
That prayer was answered with a profound sense of peace. The Spirit began to. . .I want to say whisper. . .but it was more like a friend's voice right there beside me. It was stronger than a whisper. And the fear fled.
Then the battle began.
Whitney and Joe were moving to their new home in Casa Grande and awaiting the news regarding the scheduling of Ariana's heart surgery. Suddenly, everything went into overdrive. The surgery was scheduled for the next week, the day after Joe's birthday, and just a few days into the move, which included painting, organizing, unpacking, painting some more, and the general exhaustion that always surrounds a move with a new baby who happens to have medical problems. I was down there helping out (note to Joe: thanks for keeping your panic at bay while I took over the paint roller. I know it makes you crazy, but I appreciate you not tying me up and throwing me in the closet). It was November 12, and we were putting together birthday stuff, trying to shop for Christmas, getting ready for the at-least-a-week in the hospital stay and trying not to think about what Ari was going to be going through. Needless to say, the stress level was pretty significant. Gabe and I were in the car on our way to Kohl's when the phone rang. It was Rick. The conversation was pretty amusing, actually, in retrospect.
Rick: Well, they laid me off.
Me: Quit lying - they did not.
Rick: Yah, they did.
Me: Stop it.
Rick: (Insert dead air here)
Me: You're not lying, are you?
Rick: Nope. (And then he told me the story, which I won't relate here, because bitterness tends to drive away faith too.)
Me: Oh. . .my.
It was a true "Mr. Potter" moment. You remember - right at Christmas time, during the happiest time of the year, Mr. Potter steals eight thousand dollars that Uncle Billy left on the table, and George Bailey gets caught in a web of circumstances that threaten to destroy him. That's how this felt. The day before Ari's surgery. . .and BOOM!
Here's the thing. Rick is good at insurance sales because he cares about people. That's it, pure and simple. Just like George Bailey, Rick puts people and their needs ahead of financial gain. In my book, that is a sure-fire recipe for success, because whatever you dish out is what's going to come back to you. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. And Rick has been reaping the fruits of hard work combined with compassion and care for the people he serves. That's the key. He doesn't sell anything - he serves. The sales follow, but they're not what his design is.
In the movie, George inherits a tattered angel. Well, I don't know of any of those who are hanging around here, but I do keep trying to remind Rick of all the good things about himself, so maybe I'm Clarence. You know, a little absent-minded, a little eccentric, and coincidentally, a reader of Mark Twain. Not that Rick needed to be saved from himself - he's pretty strong and very level-headed, and I'm sure glad, because losing a job suddenly can send some men into a tailspin. Remember the stories about Black Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929? Guys go crazy when their jobs go away sometimes, and I'm glad that I didn't have to worry about that.
So here we are. There are supporting characters in the movie who bear a pretty striking resemblance to some of the folks in our lives. Sam Wainwright lives on in the form of my dad. George's brother Harry is personified in my kids, who figuratively flew through their own storms to come and offer sympathy, compassion, and concrete offers of ways they wanted to help. Ward and Brianne offered to pull up roots, move to Arizona, and get licensed to sell insurance, which I'm sure is the last career Ward would really want to pursue, but he was willing to do it for us. Whitney and Joe came up with suggestions about legal issues that we would probably not have considered without their ideas, and those are proving to be enormously helpful (plus they send daily pictures of Ari). Ridge just stepped up to the plate and decided that he was a grown man, perfectly capable of paying his own way - which he has been doing ever since he moved to Flagstaff anyway - but he has truly stepped away from the parents since November. Erica is communicating more with her dad, and Stephanie is also standing on her own. There has been a role reversal, and the kids are calling to check on us.
And the town of Bedford Falls, with all those people whom George Bailey helped? That would be Show Low, Arizona. People have offered office space, amazing encouragement, valid advice, shoulders to lean on, righteous indignation, prayers, blessings, and our names in the temple. There are good things bubbling right beneath the surface in this town where everyone knows everyone. We are surrounded by love and support. Hello, Bedford Falls! Hello, you old run-down Building and Loan!
In the final analysis, we aren't so different from the Baileys. I'll never look like Donna Reed did, but this isn't about contrasts, it's about comparisons. In his darkest hour, George was saved by the people he had saved. He was saved by his own good deeds and the very life he had lived. In the movie, we never see what became of Mr. Potter, and maybe that's for the best. To quote Mary Bailey - "Oh, who cares." George had a wife, mother, kids, brother, uncle, and an entire town full of people whose love was infinitely stronger than Mr. Potter's evil designs. As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
Today was our 35th wedding anniversary, and we decided that after dinner at Licano's (courtesy of Ridge's gift card from Christmas), we would go to the temple. Sitting in the celestial room together, the Spirit spoke again. We're all right - we're all right.
I didn't watch it this year. I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and see it again. We have had many, many blessings in our lives - always. But in November, a Mr.-Potter-like situation came along and broadsided us. The week before it happened, Rick was told that he would be taking a significant cut in pay. When he shared that with me, I took a deep breath and whispered a prayer in which I asked for one thing only - that I wouldn't have any fear. Faith and fear cannot co-exist, and I would rather opt for faith.
That prayer was answered with a profound sense of peace. The Spirit began to. . .I want to say whisper. . .but it was more like a friend's voice right there beside me. It was stronger than a whisper. And the fear fled.
Then the battle began.
Whitney and Joe were moving to their new home in Casa Grande and awaiting the news regarding the scheduling of Ariana's heart surgery. Suddenly, everything went into overdrive. The surgery was scheduled for the next week, the day after Joe's birthday, and just a few days into the move, which included painting, organizing, unpacking, painting some more, and the general exhaustion that always surrounds a move with a new baby who happens to have medical problems. I was down there helping out (note to Joe: thanks for keeping your panic at bay while I took over the paint roller. I know it makes you crazy, but I appreciate you not tying me up and throwing me in the closet). It was November 12, and we were putting together birthday stuff, trying to shop for Christmas, getting ready for the at-least-a-week in the hospital stay and trying not to think about what Ari was going to be going through. Needless to say, the stress level was pretty significant. Gabe and I were in the car on our way to Kohl's when the phone rang. It was Rick. The conversation was pretty amusing, actually, in retrospect.
Rick: Well, they laid me off.
Me: Quit lying - they did not.
Rick: Yah, they did.
Me: Stop it.
Rick: (Insert dead air here)
Me: You're not lying, are you?
Rick: Nope. (And then he told me the story, which I won't relate here, because bitterness tends to drive away faith too.)
Me: Oh. . .my.
It was a true "Mr. Potter" moment. You remember - right at Christmas time, during the happiest time of the year, Mr. Potter steals eight thousand dollars that Uncle Billy left on the table, and George Bailey gets caught in a web of circumstances that threaten to destroy him. That's how this felt. The day before Ari's surgery. . .and BOOM!
Here's the thing. Rick is good at insurance sales because he cares about people. That's it, pure and simple. Just like George Bailey, Rick puts people and their needs ahead of financial gain. In my book, that is a sure-fire recipe for success, because whatever you dish out is what's going to come back to you. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. And Rick has been reaping the fruits of hard work combined with compassion and care for the people he serves. That's the key. He doesn't sell anything - he serves. The sales follow, but they're not what his design is.
In the movie, George inherits a tattered angel. Well, I don't know of any of those who are hanging around here, but I do keep trying to remind Rick of all the good things about himself, so maybe I'm Clarence. You know, a little absent-minded, a little eccentric, and coincidentally, a reader of Mark Twain. Not that Rick needed to be saved from himself - he's pretty strong and very level-headed, and I'm sure glad, because losing a job suddenly can send some men into a tailspin. Remember the stories about Black Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929? Guys go crazy when their jobs go away sometimes, and I'm glad that I didn't have to worry about that.
So here we are. There are supporting characters in the movie who bear a pretty striking resemblance to some of the folks in our lives. Sam Wainwright lives on in the form of my dad. George's brother Harry is personified in my kids, who figuratively flew through their own storms to come and offer sympathy, compassion, and concrete offers of ways they wanted to help. Ward and Brianne offered to pull up roots, move to Arizona, and get licensed to sell insurance, which I'm sure is the last career Ward would really want to pursue, but he was willing to do it for us. Whitney and Joe came up with suggestions about legal issues that we would probably not have considered without their ideas, and those are proving to be enormously helpful (plus they send daily pictures of Ari). Ridge just stepped up to the plate and decided that he was a grown man, perfectly capable of paying his own way - which he has been doing ever since he moved to Flagstaff anyway - but he has truly stepped away from the parents since November. Erica is communicating more with her dad, and Stephanie is also standing on her own. There has been a role reversal, and the kids are calling to check on us.
And the town of Bedford Falls, with all those people whom George Bailey helped? That would be Show Low, Arizona. People have offered office space, amazing encouragement, valid advice, shoulders to lean on, righteous indignation, prayers, blessings, and our names in the temple. There are good things bubbling right beneath the surface in this town where everyone knows everyone. We are surrounded by love and support. Hello, Bedford Falls! Hello, you old run-down Building and Loan!
In the final analysis, we aren't so different from the Baileys. I'll never look like Donna Reed did, but this isn't about contrasts, it's about comparisons. In his darkest hour, George was saved by the people he had saved. He was saved by his own good deeds and the very life he had lived. In the movie, we never see what became of Mr. Potter, and maybe that's for the best. To quote Mary Bailey - "Oh, who cares." George had a wife, mother, kids, brother, uncle, and an entire town full of people whose love was infinitely stronger than Mr. Potter's evil designs. As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
Today was our 35th wedding anniversary, and we decided that after dinner at Licano's (courtesy of Ridge's gift card from Christmas), we would go to the temple. Sitting in the celestial room together, the Spirit spoke again. We're all right - we're all right.
What an amazing parallel! My parents are incredible!
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