It was Christmas time a few years ago. I met a man outside a grocery store. We were putting our carts back in the proper place assigned for them but others had put their carts on the sidewalk or in front of other cars or in handicapped spaces. I remember this man said, “Everybody is acting like a Mr. Potter,” He was referring the film, It’s A Wonderful Life. I was surprised he mentioned the old film but he and I briefly exchanged our disappointment in others. As we left, I wondered how he knew I had watched the 1946 classic film. Was it a coincidence? Or was he a messenger from above?
The themes in my Mystic Bay Series have always been inspired by the iconic Christmas film, It’s A Wonderful Life. Set during World War II, the theme resonates today as bullies around the globe try to bring us down to our knees. In the film, George Bailey, a kind son, has to take over the family business when his father dies. Now he can’t follow his dreams of seeing the world. The bully in town, Mr. Potter, tries to destroy George’s family business and takeover the town. George becomes despondent and decides the world would be better off without him. Yet, heaven and Clarence, his guardian angel, have a lesson for him. His angel, appearing as an older gentleman, comes from heaven and shows George what life would be like in the town if he’d never been born. George saved his brother’s life as a child by pulling him from an icy pond. That would have never happened if George had never been born. At the hands of Mr. Potter, George’s wife would have never married and the town would be ruined by Mr. Potter’s cruelty and greed.
The theme resonates with me as I write my soon to be eighth book in the Mystic Bay Series where angels live as humans guiding the townsfolk with love. In the film, George changes his attitude and handles the bully as he realizes his wonderful life. The town comes together to help him thwart the bully with their friendship.
Long ago, after my daughter died, I met an angel of my own. My friend, Nancy, took me on a girl’s trip. The distinguished man was standing by the cash register in a department store. We exhanged pleasantries as he said he was on business and we explained we were on a girl’s trip. I think now his business really was showing me that he was my guardian angel.
Surprising us, we encountered him the very next day as he walked up and greeted us in a small gift store miles away. He smiled at the coincidence of us meeting again. He told us we would see him at the airport. We turned away to look at some items a little taken aback at the coincidence that he was there. Then we looked back to find he had disappeared. His presence had been surreal and it comforted me. My fear of flying had escalated since my daughter’s passing. We had met him twice in a twenty-four hour time period. I suddenly wasn’t afraid to fly anymore. Nancy and I decided right then that he must have been an angel sent to comfort me.
This theme is in all my books. My Christmas novel is typical of the love I try to create in my themes. Finding joy with the help of friends and family and helping others is key to having our own wonderful life. Counting on the fact that our angels are all around guiding us helps me daily. I believe the bully never wins and love is always triumphant. Angels are with us. Was that man at the grocery store parking lot sent from above to remind me of the thought that we have a wonderful life? Nancy and I still speak of the man angel we met years ago. That day, he changed my life. I met my very own Clarence. I thank him everyday.
