Have you seen “It’s A Wonderful Life”?
If you haven’t, here’s the 3 cent synopsis: A nice guy thinks his life doesn’t matter so he wishes he was never born. His wish gets granted and he sees what everyone else’s life would have been like without him. He realizes he misses his family so he makes another wish to have everything back as it was. That wish gets granted and he learns that his life mattered more than he knew.
Of course there is much more going on in this movie but as I stated, that was the 3 cent synopsis.
Have you ever wondered how different other peoples lives would be if you had never entered it, or if you had never been born?
Through “It’s A Wonderful Life” we get to see George Bailey’s world without him. Of course George’s life in romanticized for the film and he is portrayed as extraordinary human being.
He saved his brother’s life and stood up his Pharmacist boss when he was a kid. He gave up his dream of travel to keep the family business open when his father passed away. He sacrificed his honeymoon to calm the town people when there was a run on the bank. The list goes on.
I can’t imagine anyone living up to the standard of George Bailey. Then again, we don’t need to.
George wished he had never been born because he thought everyone he knew would have been better off without him. What he learned was that his acts of altruism saved countless lives. He kept people off the street and built affordable homes.
Throughout all of time there has never been one life that didn’t matter. Every person matters to someone. And like George Bailey before his wish, we may not know our impact. But I guarantee you make an impact on people who you have met.
The kind words you say to the cashier at the grocery store may be the only kind words they hear that day. And maybe they don’t do something foolish because of your kind words.
As I write this, I’m thinking of Lily the Barista who doesn’t make coffee, she pours happiness. She gets it. She understands that even though she pours coffee, she can make a difference in people’s lives.
You are Lily. You are George Bailey. You matter more than you will ever know. People’s lives are better because you exist.
Live your life knowing you matter.