"It's a Wonderful Life!"

Today, I went into Lila Elementary School to teach the third graders. I usually start the 3rd grade classes with a quotation and today's was from Psalm 118 verse 24. "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" As I stood there telling them how special they are to be alive- that God made them and gave them eyes to see and air to breathe- I then noticed the beauty of life outside. The sun was shining brightly as a cold breeze passed through the trees, grabbing leaves and blowing them all the way up past the 4th floor window where I observed speechlessly for a split second, overwhelmed by the moment. I then continued, "This very day God wants you to be alive! We can move and run, use our brains and muscles because we have life!" Then some of the students reminded me of our verse last week that God had also given us hearts and souls that we could use to love Him.

What a needed reminder when life seems to become monotonous or ordinary. We have an extraordinary God who has made life and given it to us to use and rejoice in. When was the last time you stopped and realized that you are at a unique point in the history of life on this planet? Why is THIS time unique you may ask? Because you are alive right now! Alive and able to rejoice or not rejoice; Make a difference in the lives of those around you or just be another person who has come walked this earth and died. The Bible tells us in Psalm 115:

The highest heavens belong to the LORD,
but the earth he has given to man.

It is not the dead who praise the LORD,
those who go down to silence;

it is we who extol the LORD,
both now and forevermore.
Praise the LORD.

This very day was created by God, and all those who are alive now make choices, overtly or subtly, about how they live. Ask youself, how am I using the life that has been given to me? Am I rejoicing or just letting another day pass, hoping my life would hurry up and get somewhere- thus missing the opportunities in the 'moments' of life. A day will come when we no longer have the choice to move and laugh and run, to love or hate, to trust or despair, or to rejoice or not rejoice. Our time will be completed and our life will be called to account. How have we lived each day? Life is truely a precious gift God has given- and I hope that you and I make the most of it.

I am reminded of George Bailey in the movie, It's a Wonderful Life. George was a man who had let life get him down, and God allowed him to see what life would be like without him. By seeing this, George finally realized that his life did matter, that he was touching the lives of other people, and that he'd been given another chance 'to live again'. And what did he do? He Rejoiced! He whooped and he hollered and he let the whole world know that he is now living in light of life-for the moments and the people around him. He ran home to kiss his wife and hold his children, where he also found his friends coming to show him he was no failure.

I hope that by living in the reality of the importance of our life we will stay motivated to get out of bed in the mornings, to stop and smell the flowers on the way to work, to slow down and let someone in our lane in traffic, to say hi to a complete stranger, to love someone when it hurts, to cry when needed, to say 'no' when its hard, to forgive and not hold grudges, to embrace and be embraced, to give something to someone who has less, to say 'yes' to the opportunites that come to our life specifically, to play in the leaves with children, to step out in faith, to seek our Creator, to pray to our Maker, to kiss our wife and hold our children, to simply take a deep breath, let life fill our lungs, and say 'Thank-You'. In short: to Live.. to Laugh.. to Love.. to Rejoice.

May you remember all the reasons you have for rejoicing and may you spread that joy to others. Remember, you've been given only one life to live- Now is your chance...

"I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2