Regarding my new book – It’s a Wonderful Life Advent Devotional – I’ve been asked “What do you hope readers will carry away with them?” 

The two big messages I want to get across is first, that God loves them, and wants us to love one another, and second, that the sorts of problems we see plaguing the fictional Bedford Falls—poverty, prejudice, people making decisions that hurt others, neighbors who are grieving, like Mr. Gower, the druggist, whose son succumbs to the Spanish flu, foolish relatives who cause difficulties, as Uncle Billy does—are problems we see today, in our own lives. 

Two years ago, my husband’s nephew died by suicide, causing great grief to his widowed mother.  My late brother was an alcoholic who caused distress and problems for the family.  A man from my church is now serving a lengthy prison sentence for possessing child pornography.  And we are all too aware of businesses which put profits before the welfare of their communities.

At the end of “Wonderful Life,” we are so happy to see George Bailey get out of Pottersville and back to Bedford Falls that we tend to forget that, while Pottersville is an awful place, Bedford Falls also has  many problems.  Like every other town in the world, Bedford Falls is affected by the Fall. We must use our time, talents, and money to battle these social ills, asking for God’s wisdom as we do.