It's a Wonderful Life!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I know I’m a little late, but for all the preparation and excitement that goes into that one day a year, I think the season should last a little longer. (This is me trying to find an excuse for a late Christmas greeting. Is it working?) I love this time of year! I was trying to think about what my favorite part of Christmas break from school has been so far (because you know it’s a question you will be asked back at school), but I’ve enjoyed so much of it! The Christmas dinner, the decorations, the music, the movies and Christmas specials, the gifts, family time, playing in the snow (which we had this week!), hot chocolate and Christmas cookies, getting warm and cozy in some fluffy socks and pjs… ah! It’s all so wonderful! My absolute favorite Christmas movie of all times is It’s a Wonderful Life. For any poor unfortunate soul who hasn’t seen it, the movie centers around a man, George Bailey, who dreams of becoming an architect. George’s dad runs a small building and loan company, helping families in the small community of Bedford Falls. Through a series of events, George is unable to pursue his dream, but spends his life, to his frustration, continuing his father’s business. After an unfortunate mistake by his uncle and business partner, which would result in George’s arrest, he believes that his family and friends would be much better off if he were dead, and contemplates suicide. He is saved by his guardian angel, Clarence, who allows George to see what Bedford Falls and the lives of everyone he knows and cares about would be like if he had never been born. I don’t want to give too much away, but here is one of my most favorite clips of the whole movie:



That close up shot of the wide-eyed Jimmy Stewart is probably one of my favorites in the whole film (you have to admit, it's pretty awesome). Besides that, I love the message of the movie. George Bailey was a man with a plan. He was going to go to college, he was going to travel, he was going to build bridges and skyscrapers... but his life did not go according to his plan. Instead, he lived a humble life in a humble town making a humble living. Yet his legacy was huge! George Bailey might have been a nobody, but he was a nobody who made a difference. You know, sometimes I wonder what my life will look like in ten, twenty years. To be completely honest, I would love to be living in New England (I love the mountains, the fall colors, the snow...), being a stay at home mom, supporting my husband, maybe substitute teaching... yet my passion lies elsewhere. I long to worship God through serving a people who do not know Him. Honestly, I do not know where my life will be in ten or twenty years. Maybe I will be in New England, maybe in East Asia, maybe somewhere completely different. But, I hope, maybe a little selfishly, that I can have a legacy like that of George Bailey. Fictional character though he may be, his life was valuable to those he came into contact with. No matter where I am or what I am doing, I want to do all as a servant of others, bringing glory to the One who deserves it above all others.

God,
The way You organize people and events to bring Yourself glory amazes me. I don't know what Your plan is for my life, but I know that it is much better than my plan could ever be, and my desire above all else is to be Your vessel, changing lives for the better, no matter where I am. Make Yourself known to the nations. Use me as a part of Your plan to do so. I trust You.

Here I raise my Ebenezer

Well, I wish I had something missions minded or inspirational to say today. In fact, I haven't posted in over a week because I was waiting for inspiration. But, alas, I have found none and must continue on writing anyways. I know that I said in my last post that I was going to try to talk about money less, and this is still true, but I wanted to say thank you to all of you who have supported me, even just by visiting this blog! You have been a huge encouragement to me, and I am truly, incredibly blessed. You know, raising support is not an easy task. And while it's neat and exciting to hear about the amazing ways God is providing for people, you never really hear the stories about those who are struggling to raise support. That's me. It has been a struggle, and I don't mean to say that in search of pity, but to say that, even when we are struggling, be it with finances or another area of life, God is still good. He is always good. Even in my struggle, He is still good. I just wanted to share with you all today how God has been reminding me of His goodness and His gracious faithfulness recently.

Right now I am reading through 1 Samuel. This past week was really hard getting back into the groove of school and work and other responsibilities after having a whole week off for Thanksgiving. One morning, I was just so worn out and overwhelmed, I just had to cry to God for help, and He was so good to allow me to read through chapter 7. Before I share with you what God shared with me, let me give you the story leading up to this chapter:

Eli was the Judge over Israel at the time, and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas (Is that pronounced like Phineas, like Phineas and Ferb? Just wondering.) served as priests as well. However, while Eli followed the Lord, his sons did not. In chapter 4, Israel is in battle against the Philistines and losing. So, with the help of Hophni and Phinehas, they bring the ark of the covenant with them to help them in their fight against the Philistines. However, the opposite happens and the Philistines not only defeat the Israelites, but they take the ark of the covenant with them.

May I just add a side note here and say that when I read this chapter, I was really confused. When the Philistines heard that the ark had come to the Israelite camp, they were afraid of the power of Israel's God. Yet, God gave them victory over Israel. Why would God allow His image to be tainted? Couldn't He have come up with another solution in which Israel was punished for their disobedience AND where the Philistines were still awed by the power of God? But this was the best solution according to God, and reading on in chapters 5 and 6, my confusion was resolved. :)

So, after the Philistines brought back the ark with them, they set it in the temple of one of their gods, Dagon. When they came into the temple later, they found the statue of Dagon fallen on its face in front of the ark. They picked the statue back up, but it fell down again later, only this time, the arms and head had fallen off the body. The people of the city got tumors as well, and they all knew it was the wrath of the God to whom the ark belonged. The Philistines tried to pass the ark on to other cities, but no on wanted to take it. So, on the advice of their priests, they set the ark on a cart, attached two cows to the front of the cart, and the cart went, with no one to guide it, back to Israel. Wow. Talk about major statement of holiness from God! Wow.

So, finally, we've made it to chapter 7, which is what I really wanted to talk about. I have to add that by this time, Eli and his two sons had died and Samuel (the son of Hannah, who wept and prayed that God would give her a child and then dedicated him to God) was the priest and judge of Israel. For 20 years, the ark stayed in the city it had returned to, and, verse 2 says, "all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord." Then, (I love this part) Samuel says to Israel, "If you are returning to Israel with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines." So that's exactly what the people did. They got rid of all of their idols and served God. The Israelites gathered together to repent and worship, but when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel were gathering together, they gathered to attack Israel once again. Samuel then cried out to God on Israel's behalf that He would protect them, and God created a great panic among the Philistines and the Israelites won. Well... God won, but He won for the Israelites.

So here is the part that I really wanted to get to: After all of this happened, this is what verse 12 says, "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far has the Lord helped us.'" He named the stone (and the place, 4:1) "Ebenezer." Like, Scrooge? In church we sing the song, "Here I raise my ebenezer," but I always thought that it meant sacrificing yourself- the good, the bad, all of it. But that's not what the word means at all! The word "ebenezer" means "stone of help," and Samuel named it that because God had helped them. The words of the song connect a lot better to the second part "hither by Thy help I come" when we consider this meaning (the real meaning) instead.

These words could not have come to me at a better time not only as I struggle to raise support, but as the obligations of life can seem too much. God is my help. I can raise my stone of help, my ebenezer, to Him in praise and remembrance of how He has helped me in the past, but also as a cry from help in present trouble. And I can trust that He is good and He is faithful and I have help.

Thank you, Lord, for Your many blessings in my life that often go unrecognized. You are faithful to those who love You. I read the testimony of Your faithfulness in Your Word, but I also experience Your faithfulness in my own life. Please, God, do not fail me. Remain good as I know You will. Thank you for Your goodness and Your help. I trust in You. Grow me in my trust.