E73 - It's A Wonderful Life for Everyone Who Lives in the True Spirit of Christmas

In this episode of A Prisoner's Pardon, Michi J. explores the timeless holiday film 'It's a Wonderful Life,' outlining how the protagonist, George Bailey, learns the true value of his life through his sacrifices and impact on others. The episode highlights parallels between George's journey and our own lives, encouraging viewers to shift their perspective from materialism and self-reliance to community, support, and selflessness. By reflecting on George's hardships and divine intervention, listeners are inspired to embrace a wonderful life filled with purpose and gratitude.

00:00 Introduction to Classic Christmas Movies

00:41 The Timeless Message of 'It's a Wonderful Life'

01:29 Deep Dive into George Bailey's Life

04:06 George's Sacrifices and Temptations

06:29 The Impact of George's Choices

07:31 Finding Freedom and Embracing a Wonderful Life

08:44 The True Spirit of Christmas

10:43 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Episode Transcript

Microphone (2- AT2005USB) (00:00):
The Christmas season is here and with

(00:02):
it comes the timeless tradition ofwatching classic movies like Miracle
on 31st Street and The Christmas Story.
These are films that never fail tocapture the true spirit of the holidays.
Today's culture has, unfortunately,just about lost its spirit.

(00:24):
,Microphone (AT2005USB): And it's no wonder with the focus
being on the political climate.
And.
Even in our own lives, not reallybeing thankful for what we have.

Microphone (2- AT2005USB): I want resonates with me. (00:35):
undefined
It's the movie.
It's a wonderful life.
the story is about acharacter named George Bailey.
George had dreams of traveling the world.
These plans didn't go as expected.
AS George navigates the ups anddowns of life, his trouble multiply.

(00:56):
A divine intervention occurs.
To show George the true impacthis life has had on others.
I want us to look at this movie andunderstand how having a wonderful
life is also a possibility for us all.

(01:29):
Hello everyone and welcomeback to A Prisoner's Pardon.
I'm your host, Michi J.
And today we're going to delvedeep into the heartwarming
story It's a Wonderful Life.
The story is about acharacter named George Bailey.
He's played by James Stewart.
And in the story, it unveilsGeorge's life as a man who once had

(01:54):
big dreams of traveling the world.
However, as life often unfoldsfor all of us, these plans
didn't quite go as expected.
George finds himself tempted totake an offer that promises to
free him from his current troubles.
But something inside him compels him tostay and face the challenges head on.

(02:16):
But as George navigates the ups and downsof life, his trouble seems to multiply.
Haven't we all seen things like this?
he faces adversity in hisbusiness and even finds himself
on the brink of jail time.
We've all faced adversity in our lives.
If you haven't, just keep living.

(02:36):
Well, the weight of all of this becomes sounbearable for George that the once strong
George contemplates giving up entirely.
He begins to drown himselfin harmful behaviors such as
drinking and he even entertainsthe thoughts of ending his own life.

(02:58):
Whew.
We've all been there where wejust do not want to face things.
Things are just too much.
there was a life changingencounter for George.
So when George was at his lowestpoint, a divine intervention occurs.
What happens is an angelis sent from heaven.

(03:20):
To show George the true impacthis life has had on others.
This angel helps him to seethat despite his struggles, his
life is truly a wonderful one.
George discovers that he is nota prisoner of his circumstances,
but rather a beacon of hope andinspiration for those around him.

(03:42):
Let's reflect on George's journeyand let's draw parallels to our own
lives because we all experience ourown George Bailey moments, times
when we feel trapped and hopeless.
But if we shift our perspective,we can find that our lives too are

(04:03):
filled with wonder and purpose.

Microphone (2- AT2005USB)-2: First off, George lost his father. (04:06):
undefined
That was a big impact on him becausehe was the breadwinner in the house.
And George had to make some sacrifices.
That was exactly the timewhen he was gonna go and leave
and just travel the world.
Instead, he devoted his time totake over his father's business.

(04:30):
I think that's what weshould be doing too.
We should be handlingour father's business.
If you know what I mean.
So, all of us have been impactedwith the loss of loved ones.
Or, just having someone therethat haven't been doing what
they are supposed to be doing.
It's one or the other.
Then, George, he took over the business.

(04:52):
And he was only going to take overthe business just for a short while
until his brother gets out of collegeand then he was going to take it
over so George can travel the world.
That didn't happen either.
George's brother got married and wasgiven the prospect of a great job
through his father in law's company.

(05:13):
George saw the opportunity forhis brother, so told him that
he can go ahead and do that.
, and George sacrificed everythingagain so that his brother
can accomplish a better life.
Again, a great message do wesacrifice for our brothers?
Then George, was tempted to justleave, but it was a trick from Mr.

(05:37):
Potter.
Mr.
Potter, he was an evil man,well, a very angry man.
He wanted to control everything.
So he wanted to tempt Georgewith a seemingly lucrative job.
But if George took it, he wouldthen expose all the people to Mr.

(05:58):
Potter's plan to take over everything andjust charge sky high prices, therefore
trapping the people in impoverishing thembecause they would be indebted to him.
He would, you know.
Raise all the prices till theyjust can't even afford it.
Sounds familiar?

(06:18):
George didn't allow it.
He stayed where he was eventhough he wanted to leave and
he protected his community.
He took on a selfless job.
Now, later, through this job,One of his co workers misplaced
some money which actually puthim in jeopardy of going to jail.
At the end, he was facing so muchadversity, so many problems, and

(06:42):
they come in all at one time.
It doesn't come one at a time, andwait for you to get over one.
It floods in.
So George was frustrated.
He was angry.
He was taking it out on his family.
He was starting to want to drink.
And then also, commit suicideand just end everything.

(07:03):
But then he had anintervention, thankfully.
we all need those types of interventionsfrom someone sent from heaven.
It could be a fellow co worker, asibling, , a stranger at times, to come
and give us a good word, to encourageus, and also just to let us see that.

(07:25):
It's not as bad as it seems.

Microphone (2- AT2005USB): We all can find freedom. (07:28):
undefined
We here at a prisoner's pardon havea mission and that is to drive this
perspective home to all our listeners,whether they are physically in
prison or trapped in a spiritualsense, just as George Bailey was.
Just as Illinois has Pontiacand Wisconsin has Dodge

(07:49):
Correctional as intake facilities.
We recognize here that there is aspiritual facility preceding them all.
so how can we embrace a wonderful life?
It really starts by beinghonest with ourselves.
Too often people hide their pain,refusing to admit the struggles,

(08:11):
acknowledging our vulnerabilities isthe first step towards finding freedom.
Don't buy into the false statementsyou hear about self empowerment
and I can do it all by myself.
All that is false.
If you don't believe it, just lookat the evidence all around you when
you look closer, it's not true.

(08:32):
You know why?
Because we all need someone.
We all need family.
Also Don't fall for thefalse marketing as well.
That's happening now during the season.
It's not immaterial things.
Marketing.
That's going on.
What have you believe that youcan have a wonderful life if
you go out and buy something?

(08:53):
This is definitely false marketing.
I don't know if you've seen it, but haveyou seen the media about target having
black Friday prices when it's actuallythe same prices throughout the year?
Yeah, it was a big media blowup about that, but that's
not the only thing they do.
And this is what a lot of stores donot just to look at target, they mark

(09:16):
up prices and then mark them downand say that they're having a sale.
A wonderful life is not alsoin fake relationships either.
Fake meaning, it's just about sex ormoney or anything else other than two
people being totally committed forlife to the betterment of the other.

(09:37):
So is willing to make sacrifices for them.
Question, do you makesacrifices for others?
Or do you do things only for yourselves?
George Bailey, in the movie, AWonderful Life, made sacrifices
for his wife and his kids.
He made them for his brother,his father, and his community.

(09:59):
He didn't have the mostdesirable house, clothes, or job.
Still, though, he had a wonderful life.
The angel showed him how, if hewasn't around to make the sacrifices
he did, how things would have turnedout for each person he had affected.
Boy, it makes you wonder howmuch we impact people seeing

(10:21):
this really gave George.
joy and filled him with thereal spirit of the Christmas
season we can do the same thing
God gave us the gift of himselfand we should do likewise by
giving the gift of ourselves.
A prisoner's pardon, is all aboutfreedom to live a wonderful life.

(10:43):
That's all for today's episode.
Remember, A wonderful life isnot found in material possessions
or fake relationships, but liesin the sacrifices we make for
others, much like George Bailey.
So stay true, stay joyousand have a wonderful life.
Thank you for listening and may youhave a week filled with blessings.