THE CHRISTMAS WISH (It’s a Wonderful Life)

"Remember the night we broke some windows in this old house? This is what I wished for."

- Mary Bailey, It's a Wonderful Life

Mary Bailey believed that God was a God that made wishes come true.

And my sweet friend, Rhonda, would agree.

"What do you want for Christmas, young lady?" Santa asked the 47-year-old woman sitting on his knee.

"A guitar," she replied without hesitation. "A blue one."

With little time left to shop, her parents scoured every music store in Michigan but came up empty-handed.

But Rhonda wasn't worried because her faith was far greater than the impossible wish.

And though Santa's elves work year-round to make dreams come true, they can't compete with the Creator when shopping for His child.

Because all our requests are laid at the foot of God’s throne long before they hit Santa’s lap.

In fact, a few years before, my husband, Chuck, wandered in and out of antique stores in his Ohio hometown, looking for a set of strings to strum.

His sister, Mary, was very sick, and his songs had always made her smile.

One last look, and he turned to go. Perhaps it was a silly idea. Then he spotted the neck of a guitar protruding from under a workbench.

It was not the kind of guitar he would typically buy, but something about it struck a chord. It would do.

So that old guitar played on through the night for Mary, then returned home with us after her funeral. Chuck slid it under the bed and shut the door.

There was no reason to sing that Christmas.

We spent the next year trying to purge grief from every room in our house.

"What about this?" I asked my husband, holding up the dormant guitar. "You have so many already."

Chuck ran his fingers down its untuned strings. A faint note of hope lingered.

"I don't know. Maybe later. Mind if we keep it a little longer?" Chuck said.

I sighed. It was hard to let go of a dream.

So the guitar was laid back to rest for another year.

The following Christmas, a layer of grief covered every step, so I furiously vacuumed the house before the family arrived.

"Son of a g…..! OUCH!" I stubbed my bare toes on the hard guitar case under the bed, pulled it out, and limped to Chuck.

"How about now?"

He looked at the instrument with sad eyes and nodded. "OK. I'm running late to see Dean. I'll take it to Salvation Army after. Maybe there's a kid somewhere that wants a guitar for Christmas."

Chuck had sipped the last of his coffee when he remembered to ask his business partner Dean about his sister.

"Hey, how's Rhonda doing?" Chuck asked.

Dean shook his head, laughing. "You don't happen to know where to find a guitar at this hour, do you? She asked Santa for one last night, and Mom and Dad are scrambling. We've looked everywhere."

At that moment, the old familiar carol, "Joy to the World," played through the coffee shop speakers, but Chuck heard a new song begin in his heart.

It had been a while.

"A guitar, huh?" His eyes twinkled at the wonder of it all.

"I happen to have an extra, but there’s a little catch. You think Rhonda will mind that it's blue?"

With faith in Jesus, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE.

"What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love Him." (I Corinthians 2:9, GNT)