Day 3 of My Twelve Mugs of Christmas

Mug Hug 3

Ahhhh, cream. My morning is happy; my Half and Half is replenished.

This is a repeat mug, but still, it hugs my heart.

This has been quite the exercise, writing every day. Like everything, it’s got two sides: it’s a privilege with a lot of satisfaction, and it’s a commitment that begins to feel like an obligation, so I am glad I’ve got two days left!

While I prepared for Saturday’s dinner I had “It’s a Wonderful Life” on. Outside of Les Mis, could there be a more amazing movie?

George Bailey has everything a person needs to make a difference in the world. He’s talented, ambitious, likable, and good. Even snarky, young George calls Mary, “brainless,” by which Mary is completely unaffected. He is determined, driven and ready to explore the world, go to college, then he’ll build skyscrapers and build cities.

In this scene George tells his dad that he absolutely does not want to take over the building and loan business his dad established.

Morgan Stickney of NH also had plans. She was positioned to become an Olympic swimmer, but as outlined in this NY Times article, she lost a leg. My own daughter has had medical issues that have altered her direction. I have a friend who anticipated a magical year with her new husband, to discover within a couple of months of their marriage that she had breast cancer. Another friend’s financial security and well being was taken from her when she was laid off after 15 years.

All of us experience a degree of disappointment. Some to the point where where our plans abruptly change our course.

The degree of impact one can make in the world doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to allocation of trouble. It would make sense if the people with all the aptitude for great things would be granted a life free of obstacles, freeing them up for super big accomplishments. That the less ambitious would receive more interruptions in life, because their plans aren’t quite as productive or don’t equate to the big deal successes. But there seems to be no plan for difficulty allotment, which is both fair and beautiful.

I think that’s because God doesn’t think about sky scrapers and Olympic successes. That’s not to say he’s not in our story while we pursue our dreams. I know he’s in my story, and I’m sure he’s with Morgan Stickney in her journey. But as we learn in George’s story, the greatest success we have is the connection we make with people every day. While someone is building a sky scraper or in line at the grocery store, or passing someone on the street, are we looking up with a smile that says: You matter. You make a difference.

And when we do that, we make a difference.

Yesterday at church we heard our final message about the 4 elements of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. The passage our pastor shared was this: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35.

George’s guardian angel Clarence, intervenes when things get desperate for George. In the end, George discovers why his life is worth living, with or without sky scrapers.

How wonderful it is, the difference we can make.

For previous posts of My Twelve Mugs of Christmas, click here.