Earning Our Wings
With the hours now counting down for Christmas, I realize that though many people are seemingly overjoyed for this blessed holiday, some of these very people are masking burdens that are almost unbearable.
There are those included in this number that carry deep discouragement just like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. They have become beaten down by life’s circumstances. Some of these may be experiencing problems very similar to George’s.
Some of them are having suicidal ideations because of some setbacks. It might not be the loss of money but there are other things just as bad or worse,
It could be the loss of a child or someone else very close that renders some to want to give up. Or it could be the loss of a job or some horrible ailment that they’ve been diagnosed with.
Their marriage might be on the skids and there seemingly is no hope for it.
As you remember, Clarence, the angel, was sent down to help save George Bailey. But you know what happened. Just as George was about to take his own life, Clarence jumped into the water. So George Bailey forgot about himself and jumped in to save him.
I think most of us, when we see someone in distress, will put do our best to save someone else.
We saw in this great movie how people banded together and began praying for George. There is I believe that God given love for people inside most of us that allows us to put our situations on the back burner to try and help someone else.
There is no doubt countless George Baileys out there even as this is being written. Their lights are just about out.
If you are one of those, remember God loves you and if you look around your angel might just be standing on the sideline waiting for his chance to clutch you from the jaws of defeat and pull you to safety.
Sometimes, I believe it happens when we are least expecting it. And it might not come in a form that is easily recognized.
It might be you conscience telling you to be nice to someone, help them in someway or on the spur of the moment show unusual love to someone.
It might be that a family that is hurting because of a death in the last few days and they just need someone to give them some encouragement that might just keep them from going under for the final time.
Someone may just need that beautiful smile of yours. And when we give or minister to some of these, we might just find that something has just happened to us. We have actually rescued ourselves.
So as I’m writing this brief article looking at the Christmas tree lit up so beautifully, I challenge you as well as myself to be someone’s Clarence. Isn’t it a weird thing that by helping save someone else, we can help save ourselves. I want to earn my wings. What about you?
Merry Christmas
