The best moment of my day: all four of us cuddling on the couch watching "It's a Wonderful Life." Now, the kids didn't quite make it to the 10 p.m. conclusion, but Philip, who was seeing the whole thing for the first time he can actually remember, finished with, "Why don't we own this one?"
A marvelous aspect to this movie is that it shows life is a series of ups and downs. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). This verse means that when we put our trust in God and seek to glorify Him, we can know that every "down" in our life has a purpose and will be followed by an "up" which is typically greater than we would have even asked for.
Now, George Bailey is not necessarily the most theologically sound example of the above principle, but I've seen this happen in my own life (on a MUCH smaller scale) just within the past couple of days.
Thursday was the worst day I can remember having in quite awhile - a day where it seemed everything I did was bound to fail and the world wanted nothing more than for me to just give up and go back to bed (all without bringing about any truly devastating events which would have actually mattered). It started by waking up to a home-done haircut which had failed miserably. The lack of style was rectified only with the use of a ponytail holder, but did a number on my attitude for the day (as much as I hate to admit). I spent the day whining to Philip about every small thing and yelling at my Little Girl for simply wanting to be held (and being very persistent about it). There were a few uplifting moments with some quality time with my sister-in-law and, later, our small group, but the following shopping trip failed entirely and the day ended with my dropping a small, yet important, piece of machinery on my toe which had been aching for two days as it was and, in the process, rendering said machinery absolutely useless.
Wait, I take that back, my day ended after said moment of clumsiness with my crying into Philip's shoulder that I just wanted this day to not exist.
Friday, though, was the complete anti-thesis of the day before. I started with prayer before I even emerged from under the covers. I stopped myself as my inner voice complained that the kids were waking earlier than I'd like, but remembered, instead, to give thanks for the healthy children who wanted nothing but my love (and some breakfast). I took the kids shopping and found everything I needed (and had the money to pay for it!). I received an e-mail that the replacement part I needed to fix aforementioned currently-useless machine was in the mail and by the end of the day I was able to pull the elastic band out of my hair, look myself in the mirror and say, "It's not that bad" (that's not to say the hair issue wasn't fixed today, because it was - thank you, Kut n' Up!).
And there you have it, George Bailey - it's about perspective. It's about handing it over to God and remembering that the hair, the electronics, the in-store deals - they don't matter. What matters is our attitude and the joy we find in every situation - no matter what happens. And most importantly, it's about Who we're choosing to glorify with every denied opportunity to whine, complain, pout and stamp our feet.
It's not about me.
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