It's a Wonderful Life

Every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there are three movies that I have to watch: White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, and It’s a Wonderful Life. Of the three, It’s a Wonderful Life is my favorite. I am not sure why that is. I guess the movie just speaks to me. It does not matter how many times I watch this movie, I still tear up at the end when all of George’s friends come to help him out. The other thing could be because this movie asks the question that we all have asked from time to time: "Would it matter to anyone if I were not here?"

If you have not seen the movie, George is the main character. He has gone through life giving up his hopes and dreams in order to help others. He finds himself in a particularly difficult financial situation. At the end of his rope he says, “Maybe it would have been better if I had never been born.” Clarence, his angel, decides to teach him a lesson and show him what life would have been like for all of his friends had he not been born. George finally realizes the error of his thinking and decides to live on. Back in his life, all of George’s friends come to help him, and he gets out of his financial difficulties. More importantly, George realizes that he has made a difference.

The first ten or fifteen times I watched this movie my question was the same as George’s: "Would anyone notice if I were not here?" The last few times that I have watched the movie though, I have found myself asking a different question. Now I ask, "Have I made a difference to anyone?" When I ask this question, my focus begins to change. I find that when I ask this question that my pockets always have extra money when I walk by a red kettle. It becomes a little easier to feel sorry for the mother whose child wants everything in the store. When I leave the stores, I am reminded to smile and say, "Have a Merry Christmas” to the clerks--even if they can’t say it back.

This year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, let’s all try to make a difference.

In closing, let me say that there are a lot of people who, if you were not here, the Haga family would miss. Thanks for being there.