Have You Had A Wonderful Life? - Stories, Poems and Humor



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It's a Christmas tradition in our home to watch the movie classic, "It's a Wonderful Life." Are you like George Bailey? Have you had a wonderful life? What would the world be like if you had never existed?
My daughter said it would be neat to see what the world would be like if she had not been born. But if I had never existed, she would not be here to speculate about what the world would have been like without her.

As I look at our tree, I reflectively look back and think of times past. My childhood Christmases weren't always the best after my parent's divorced. During the parent's marriages however, Christmases were good and I remember one Christmas Eve, we wanted to open our presents. My parents hid our presents behind a dresser in the spare room. They made my brother Roger and I go to bed. We could hear furniture moving. After awhile they got us up and said Santa had come. Sure enough the presents were under the tree!

I remember getting a nurses kit complete with candy medicine, plastic stethoscope and some very nice dresses that year. My mom had put the dresses in the layaway at the local Sterling five and dime store. For non-Arkansans, that was the chain name prior to being called Wal-Mart. My Dad wanted me to be a nurse and I'm sure that's why I got the nurses kit.

One Christmas we traveled to Portage DeSue, Missouri. I'm quite sure that name is spelled incorrectly... but anyway, we went to stay with my aunt and uncle for the holidays. They lived in a trailer. My cousins and I got dolls and I also received a camera. I still have pictures taken from that trip. My brother and cousin were quite rowdy and I remember my aunt all bent over and my brother aiming his rubber dart gun at her backside with my cousin on bended knees in the background - silently pleading and begging him not to fire. Of course he didn't!

Another Christmas they came to visit us and we slept three in a bed that year. The next morning more relatives came and we went home with Aunt Geneva and Uncle Cliff. A silent mystical snow fell as we drove to their home, a rare sight in central Arkansas for a good size snow to come. I remember being in awe as a nine-year-old about the weather.

My stepmother Marea taught me how to make Christmas special. She never bought expensive gifts but everyone got a lot of presents. She'd buy all year long and keep the presents in boxes in her bedroom.

What a sight to see all those gifts under the tree. and so much fun. Her tradition is one I've maintained through my adult life. I still love the sight of lots of presents under a tree and it doesn't matter how much money you spend! Small gifts are significant when given with love. What if she had not been in my life to teach me that important lesson?

I heard a man say that our maturity comes from the sum total of our experiences. I left home early in life because of some bad experiences and moved around to a few towns. But what if like George Bailey we could live our entire lives in one little town surrounded by people who were the best friends we ever wanted?

What if we could go through our lives making a difference in others lives? Would we always yearn for different places? I think we would because mankind cannot be content or even know what is good. What if we could change the course of history by our prayers and our existence?

We can...just as Clarence the angel wrote in the book he gave to George... "Remember no man is a failure who has friends."

When you go across the street to offer companionship to a neighbor, you make a difference. When you smile at a clerk in a store and discuss their holiday family traditions, you bring a smile to their faces. Perhaps you give a small gift to a teacher, or a ride to someone who is out of gas. Have you ever lent a few dollars or more to someone who is in a financial bind? Given a gift with no thought of getting anything in return? Helped some children whose parents were irresponsible? Given a student a ride to school? Have you opened your home to a relative who can't afford to rent a house or apartment? And in return have you know the loyalty of those you have blessed?

The oddest request I ever had was to clip someone's toenails. An elderly lady in Denver with no family nearby called one day. Would I clip her toenails? She said to have it done by a professional was considered surgery. Whether this was true or not I do not know but I did go over to this lady's house. I did not know her very well but when I arrived she had soaked her feet and I clipped her toenails.

You see, she had been burned badly as a young person and could not bend over to reach her feet. She used a stick with a claw on it to pull on her stockings and socks. I was acquainted with her for about a year and a half. At times she was very interesting to talk with and told me many stories of her youth. At other times, she was mean and nasty and I did not wonder that she was alone.

My life will never be like George Bailey's. We each have our own unique story to tell. This Christmas has been a blessed one for my family. I don't live in Bedford Falls or a place quite like it, but I am glad for the sum total of my experiences and I do believe that "no man is a failure has friends"

LaRose Karr is a church secretary and a contributing writer to "God Allows U-Turns," volumes 1, 2, 3 & 4, published under the Promise Imprint by Barbour Publishing. Her work also appears in "The Upper Room" devotional guide. LaRose has been reading all her life, and writing with a desire to be published since she was eighteen. Her writing credits include historical and technical writing, newsletter publication, producing an internet digest, also compiling and editing a cookbook. She believes her writing is a gift from God and gives HIM all the glory! She is the editor of "Moonflower Ministry Digest." Email: rosiebay@kci.net

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