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It’s a Wonderful Changed Life – Verna Bowman
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Photo courtesy www.bleedforit.blogspot.com

It's A Wonderful CHANGED Life

For I came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:38 NASB

One of our traditions every season is to watch the beloved classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” No matter how familiar I am with every scene, I always come away touched in a new heart place.

One Christmas Eve, the prayers of many go before heaven’s ear on behalf of George Bailey. Standing on the edge of an old, iron, snow-covered bridge, George wishes he’d never been born and is ready to end his life in the icy waters below. He has no idea how blessed he truly is until he has an encounter with the lovable apprentice angel, Clarence. Life stands still for George as he is taken on a journey of his life and sees what it would be like for those whose lives he touched if he’d never been born.

Humbled by the rush of supportive friends who come to help in his time of desperation always brings me to tears as I recall the countless times our friends came running to our family’s aid in times of despair.

The final scene has an elated man, grateful for life, running through the streets of Bedford Falls, gratefully wishing everyone and everything a “Merry Christmas.”

The best Christmas stories are about changed lives. It’s easy to personalize the spiritual message of the classic and our own lifetime reruns.

What if Jesus had never been born? Picture a vacant crèche. What would the world be like if Emmanuel hadn’t been transported from heaven to holy womb, to come to earth to live among us and die for all?

The Bible would end in Malachi with God’s silence. Our prayers would be wasted breath falling on a distant ear.

There would be no tears when we sing “Silent Night” because there was no silent night. No forgiveness, no hope, and no Christmas.

Every holy season reveals more of Jesus and His amazing grace in my life. I don’t need a George Bailey moment to realize that without Him I would still be on the same destructive path.

Jesus could have been born a thousand times in Bethlehem but He needs to be born once in each of us in order for us to have a changed life.

How would your life be different if Jesus had never been born? How would the lives you have touched been different without you?

Remember . . .  it’s a wonderful changed life because Jesus came.

Photo courtesy www.bleedforit.blogspot.com

Verna Bowman is a freelance writer, speaker, and Bible study leader. She posts weekly on vernabowman.com to encourage women one story at a time. She works as a medical secretary and patient advocate. Her love for journaling turned into writing God’s amazing stories in her life. Her works are published in Guideposts, Cup of Comfort Devotionals, Power for Living, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Women’s Day Magazine, and Christian Devotions. Verna and her husband Jeff live in a small Pennsylvania town with their cat, Glory. She is the mom of four adult children and “gramma” to five very adult grandchildren.

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The Antique Art of Porch Sitting – Verna Bowman
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Be still and know that I am God… Psalm 46:10

It occurred to me this past month while recovering from a surgical procedure, how much I’ve missed by not taking advantage of the tranquility of my front porch.

While visiting seaside towns, I’ve often noticed the many vacationers enjoying the charm of a porch. Relaxing to the rhythmic swing of vintage gliders, a familiar scene at Cape May, NJ, allows the rush of modern everyday life to drift slowly to another place.

We rise in the morning and scramble through our routine pattern until we run out of hours. The furious pace to which we’ve become accustomed, must force us to seek a quiet place that shouldn’t be reserved only for the rare times when we’re recovering from surgery or vacationing.

Spending time in a rocking chair on a porch used to be reason to feel “put out to pasture.” However, I’ve discovered countless opportunities to wave or chat with neighbors that ordinarily had been neglected by my hasty daily mission.

This caused me to yearn for quiet days gone by. Memories resurfaced of when I rocked my babies and read stories to my children in the stillness of early evening on our front porch that faced a whispering cornfield laced with the low chant of cicadas. Sadly, the swiftly passing decades have stolen much from us that we may not be aware of until we sit still long enough to wonder where it went.

I became convinced the slow-paced and genteel culture of the South knows how to preserve the art of porch sitting. While visiting friends last summer, I observed an old contented gentleman on his porch, carefully whittling an object from wood, while his wife sat close by snapping beans from the garden.

I’m thankful for the past month of limitation that compelled me to slow down and remember what is important. Taking time for contemplative silence allowed me to get quiet enough to hear my cat walk across the grass.

More than ever we need to be reminded of the importance to sit still and know the voice and the nearness of God, who desires time with His children. I learned that time spent on the porch allows me to get quiet enough to know my neighbors better, myself better, and my Heavenly Father even better.

How do you respond to opportunities to take a “time out?”

Verna Bowman lives with her husband, Jeff, in Red Hill, Pennsylvania. She is the mother of four children and has five grandchildren. In addition to being a medical secretary, she has been deeply involved in the women’s ministry in her church for many years. Her personal experience articles and devotionals have been published in Guideposts, Cup of Comfort Devotional for Mothers and Daughters, and various periodicals and magazines. She writes to encourage others to have hope in hopeless situations. Read Verna’s devotions.
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