This morning while I was beating myself up (as I far too
often do) about all the things I am not getting done in my life, I decided it
was time to get on my knees, (as I also often do) and have a chat with The Man
Upstairs about “what is most needful on THIS day.” This is a concept that was
gifted to me by my beyond-amazing mother, who continues to teach me the art of
breaking down the mountain of STUFF that lies before me into small and
manageable pieces. As I was making my plea, I had this image in my mind of
getting to the end of my life and seeing some divine newsreel of the things I
did NOT accomplish, but could have, if not for the vastness of my human
weakness, and my finely honed ability to procrastinate the things I KNOW I
should be doing. It was terrifying.
“Lord, I really don’t WANT that,” was my upward-directed
message. “I want my George Bailey moment!”
Before that thought was even fully formed, I could feel God
smiling down on me, speaking without words and telling me to get off my knees
and on my feet and go write about that. Right now. The shower can wait,
breakfast can wait. Everything else can wait. Just write it down, before the
moment is gone and the idea evaporates. So here I am. Why bother asking for
guidance if I am not going to heed those Very Direct promptings when I get them??
So, just in case you are the one person on the planet who
does not know who George Bailey is, here is the short version, to get you up to
speed… There is a classic movie that cycles every Christmas, called “It’s A
Wonderful Life,” starring the MOST appealing James Stewart. (Who falls under
the heading of “they don’t make ‘em like that anymore,” and if I am wrong about
this, please send me one…) He plays a man named George Bailey, who is flooded on
Christmas Eve with all of the overwhelming negative in his life, which he feels
completely unequipped to handle, and which then causes him to believe that
everyone would be better off if he had never been born. I think I am safe in
saying that most of us have had THAT George Bailey Moment at least once in our
lives. But that is not the George Bailey Moment I am talking about. Well,
actually, it’s the one I am talking about avoiding. That inner newsreel of the
Things Not Chosen. The “woulda coulda shoulda” list. Just Say No to THAT list.
George Bailey is then gifted with a vision of the world as
it might have been without him in it. He is shown, quite powerfully, that he
lifted and saved people just by being who he was. And those people showed up to
help him in his darkest moment. When I can manage to get over myself and boil
away the pitied self-focus and stress-induced blindness in my life, I realize
that I actually GET those moments. I get George Bailey Moments all the time. I
just have to pay attention to them. Make a record of them, FEEL the gratitude
for them, and share that with other people. TELL your George Bailey People that
they have made a difference in your life. Every chance you get.
So here are a few of mine that are recent, in no particular
order. I am grateful for the old friend with whom I was speaking last night
about blogging and following your passion, for her example of going out on a
limb to start her own business in the face of great challenges. I am grateful
that she told me it made a difference in her life when I sang at girls’ camp
when we were young. I am grateful that my son found an amazing girl to marry
and that I got to be a part of that event, which was SO MUCH FUN. I am really
grateful for my son’s childhood friends who came to that event from great
distances, and told me that I was “the best mom ever” during a time when I
really felt like I was not being a great mom. I am SO gratified to sit in the
living room with my 16-year-old son, while he plays me one of the literally
hundreds of songs he has written, and to know that he WANTS to share that with
me. I love that my daughter cannot stop making beautiful art. I love that all
of my kids are filled with humor and creativity. I LOVE that they can’t wait to
have Thanksgiving dinner all together. That my son reminded me he has a big comfy
couch in his house that I can sleep on Wednesday night if I want to get a nice
early jump on the cooking, and that I CAN EVEN PLAY CHRISTMAS MUSIC IN HIS KITCHEN
IF I WANNA. (That’s pretty huge.)
I love that I have a father who looks me earnestly in the eyes whenever I see him and says, “WRITE.” I love that this morning, I actually DID.
And I still have time to shower and eat breakfast before I head into my Sweet
Bedroom Office Suite (which could use some work, actually) for that home-based
job I really am grateful to have. Most of the time.
So. Tell your people. Tell them how much better your life is with
them in it. Tell them often, and tell them WHY. And not just because of that whole
’Tis the Season thing. Even though it is. If you are reading this, you have
been my George Bailey at least once, and I am grateful for you. That’s all for
now. Carry on.
