My favorite Christmas movie of all time, hands down,
is unequivocally “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Call me a sentimentalist if you wish,
but there are several moments throughout this movie where I still tear up, even
though I know exactly what’s going to happen. My favorite moment is when George
Bailey, standing there at the rail of the bridge, prays “God, dear God. Dear
Father in heaven. I’m not a praying man, but if You’re up there and You can
hear me, show me the way. I’m at the end of my rope. I – show me the way, God!”
By the time George finishes that prayer, my television
screen is a complete blur. Why? Because at that moment, I am George Bailey.
Every bridge moment I’ve ever had rushes from the back to the front of my
memory, and I relive every one of them all over again. And just as master film
maker and director Frank Capra invites us to share that very private, very
intimate moment with George and God, I invite you to join me as I pray the last
phrase of that prayer.
“Show me the way, God, to understand the difference
between the way things appear to be, and the way things really are. In this
sound-bite culture of ours, I have a tendency to hear or read some snippet of
information and take it for the Gospel. Help me to practice Benjamin Franklin’s
classic advice to “Believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see.” Give
me a healthy dose of skepticism, but not so much that it makes me cynical.”
“Show me the way, God, to peace in a world where there
really isn’t much peace. It’s not hard for me to imagine You being deeply
interested in peace in the Middle East, but honestly, and perhaps selfishly,
I’m not talking about global peace. I’m talking about peace in my own heart. I
get a little scared at times, Lord, thinking about my family’s and my health,
our safety in an increasingly violent world, or the economy and how it will
affect me, and those I love. All of these things disturb my peace, but I need
to learn to trust You. It’s pretty easy trusting You when everything is going
great, but not so easy when things are tough. I can’t trust in my position with
the University, nor in my government, but I certainly can trust in You. Don’t
let me forget that.
“Show me the way, God, to stop worrying about what I
should or should not do, but by Your grace, be what I should be. I’ve spent way
too much time worrying over ‘jots and tittles’, when I simply need to allow
your grace to work in and through me to change the very nature of who and what
I am. If I understand it right, you taught us in the Sermon on the Mount that
it was Your job to complete those details, not mine. Forgive me my sins, and
transform my nature into a reflection of Yours.”
“Show me the way, God – Your way, that is. So many
times when I pray, I’ve already determined in my own mind and heart what it is
You’re supposed to do, and as You well know, I’m not bashful about sharing with
you what I believe the answers to my own prayers should be. But what I really
need is for You to help me get past what I think I want, and receptive to what
You know I need. Help me see things Your way, not my way. Amen”
I don’t know what George Bailey was expecting when he
prayed his desperate and passionate prayer, but it’s pretty obvious that he
wasn’t expecting Clarence the Angel, nor the near tortuous journey through a
Pottersville World absent his own personal influence. What I do know is that
God answered him, and that that answer was better than George could have ever
imagined for himself.
Try it, and find out for yourself.
