Earlier today I was attending a support group meeting and the topic of the 7th Step was discussed, “Humbly ask Him ( our higher power) to remove our shortcomings”. One individual, during what she shared on the topic; mention the phrase: a wonderful life. As I thought about what she had shared, a movie that is played frequently during the holiday season came to mind: It’s A Wonderful Life. When the time came for me to share on the topic of humbly asking God to remove our shortcomings I felt led to speak about the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life; as part of what I felt led to share in the meeting. George Bailey seems to be faced with a conundrum after his father dies and after a series of events sets out to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge. The events lead to him saving a man from drowning, Clarence; who turns out to be an angel. As the two dry off in a room near the bridge, George tells Clarence he wishes he had never been born.
The movie goes on to show that Clarence gives George the ability to see how life would have been without him having been born. As George is led from one awareness to another he realizes how much his not being born would have affected both the community in which he lived and the impact that Harry (his younger brother who he saved from drowning) would have upon the war. When George realizes how his not being born would have impacted both his family and the community (Bedford Falls /Pottersville) in which he lived, he races back to the bridge. When he arrives, he begs Clarence for another chance. His prayers are answered and George runs back into town, where he realizes that the town’s people recognize him and he is filled with joy. He then runs home to the embrace of his wife and his children and finds that the towns people have rallied to help him to raise the needed funds. The movie ends with all the money being raised to keep George from realizing his fears.
All worked out, despite his fear of the future.
The movie points out to me, to which I shared in the meeting. that I don’t know how things are going to turn out. I don’t have the big picture. I need to trust the process to a loving God to sort things out. He alone knows how the “pieces of the puzzle” need to come and fit together at the right time and in the right order. With this awareness, I need to trust that more will be revealed in time. I need to trust that the “dots: will connect forward and that more will be revealed in time. As I am able to turn my will and my life over to the care of a loving God and pray for the knowledge of His will for me and the power to carry that out, I am able to let go. By doing the footwork, as I feel led; and by letting go of the outcomes I am able to have peace or calm in my life. Although I may have fear of what might be, like George Bailey; I need to remember that life makes sense as I trust the process. And like George, I am encouraged to trust the process and not focus on my fears. All will work out, despite any fear that I might have of the future.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path.” Steve Jobs
“Every single Pixar film, at one time or another, has been the worst movie ever put on film. But we know. We trust our process. We don’t get scared and say, ‘Oh, no, this film isn’t working.” John Lasseter
“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” Golda Meir
“The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction not a destination.” Carl Rogers
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