The "Wonder" of this "Wonderful Life"

The Christmas season always brings multiple broadcasts of the movie It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart. I remember one year it seemed to be the only movie TV stations had access to since it played nearly around the clock between all of the different stations. This season hasn’t been that bad, but instead of watching Jimmy Stewart playing ole George Bailey in that old Christmas movie, I read a book. Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias. It is a great book from a great writer and speaker. Ravi makes the statement, “The world of a child may delight in the fantastic, but the world of an adult must move from what is merely fantastic to that which is fantastically true.” Life certainly loses its wonder when we become adults. There are leeches in life that seem to suck the wonder right out of us. There are the leeches of unwanted responsibility, bills, changing the oil, addiction, pain, suffering, loss, death, disease, etc. Things such as this become smothering and can bring about resentment and bitterness into our lives. Recently, I found myself angered by our situation and the strain of taking care of Macayla. This has been a difficult Christmas for us. As of the 27th, it has been one year since our diagnosis. The difference in Macayla from last Christmas to now is tremendous. She can’t walk without full support. She has stopped talking. She seems less and less able to interact with toys, people, or the environment around her. All of this struck me as I watched her rock uncontrollably in her wheelchair. It has been sobering as we are once again reminded of how our daughter is slipping away right in front of us. Is this her last Christmas? Most of the data would certainly say no. But if the rate of decline doesn’t slow, what will Macayla be like next Christmas? It certainly is hard to find wonder in life at such times. But the fantastic truth is that Jesus is with us in spite of the disease and in spite of our anger and frustration. The fantastic truth is that Macayla is still Macayla and lives are being touched by her life and in ways we can’t yet fathom. Wonder has many aspects according to Ravi. Mystery and clarity are just two of those aspects. Children see the world with great clarity at times and most things are mysterious to them. They faithfully accept so much of what they are told and then are mesmerized by it (until puberty begins and then there is no mystery because they know it all). Jacob delights in finding out how a telephone works. I just wish the telephone would stop ringing sometimes. The clarity of Macayla’s situation is that she is deteriorating and unless there is a miracle, she will die in the next few years. The clarity of Macayla’s situation is that God is working in it and through it. The mystery of Macayla’s situation is how God is working in it and through it and how far that will reach. George Bailey discovered with great clarity that his life mattered in a way that was too big and too mysterious to completely fathom. Likewise, what a wonderful life Macayla has with all of its mysterious clarity. And that is fantastically true.