My family loves It's a Wonderful Life. I remember our big Hogan family Christmases while growing up where the movie would be playing in the background and my dad and his siblings would just recite lines. This was during the beginning days of VHS...sidenote: I remember when we got our first VCR; the first movie we ever rented was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (at least I think it was)...anyway, so I wasn't accustomed to people being so familiar with movies yet. You couldn't rent your favorite movie over and over again, let alone own it, so I considered their knowledge of the movie to be quite impressive. It seems kind of silly now, but I remember thinking it was a big deal. One year an It's a Wonderful Life book was gifted to someone in the family and it was passed around the house over the next few days. It had the script in it and I remember trying to read it so I could start to memorize the lines too.
It's a late night tonight at the Cummings house and since I'm alone and hoping to get cozy and nostalgic during this the week before Christmas, I popped in my copy of the beloved movie. I felt it worth blogging about not because of my fond childhood memories of it, but because of a poignant exchange between the angels at the beginning. At least it's poignant to me in light of recent adversity...
"You sent for me sir."
"Yes Clarence, a man down on Earth needs our help."
"Splendid! Is he sick?"
"No worse... he's discouraged."
No matter how difficult things may get, we mustn't lose heart. Troubles and sickness may befall us but we can stand in spite of them. Discouragement is far worse. Without hope of a future where things can be different, where we can be different, that is indeed far worse.
Saturday, December 18
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