It's a Wonderful Life?

One day on the bus when I was in the fifth or sixth grade my best friend asked me what my lucky number was. I had never thought of having a lucky number before she asked and didn’t have a clue how to pick a lucky number.  So to stall for time I asked what her lucky number was.

She quickly replied, “Seven…” and went on to explain that seven was a special number in the Bible.


For some unknown reason as she explained the significance of seven my mind calculated 10 – 7 = 3. When she finished talking I said, “My lucky number is 3.”

Then she asked, “What’s your lucky day?” Lucky day? Who has ever heard of a lucky day? She didn’t wait for me to respond this time. Maybe she saw the puzzled blank stare in my eyes.

Anyway, she went on to say, “My lucky day is July 7—seventh month and seventh day.”

That gave me a clue! So I confidently replied, “Oh, my lucky day is March 3rd—third month and third day.” On saying that, I realized it was also 3 days before my birthday! How lucky is that! March 3rd—third month, third day and three days before my birthday!

Yesterday on facebook I felt like that clueless elementary student again! Several were asking, What is your favorite Christmas movie? What is your favorite Christmas carol and why?

Of course I have a favorite Christmas carol—O Holy Night—I remember hearing it for the first time in 1980-something, sung by Tim Holder at Belmont Church in Nashville, TN. The melody and the lyrics moved me to the core of my being and Tim’s voice was exceptional! Since then I’ve heard it sung but never quit like Tim's version. Every Christmas I bemoan the absence of Tim’s voice—not that Tim is dead, but he lives in Arkansas now and we have always lived somewhere else. However, other people sing ‘O Holy Night’ so I’m not totally deprived.

But, favorite Christmas movie? Nothing—nada—gar nuet! As I read the answers I realized that with the exception of one or two of the movies I had never even seen what people were calling Christmas classics!

It’s a Wonderful Life? Haven’t seen it!
Charlie Brown’s Christmas? No.
The Grinch? I don’t even think I’ve read the book!
Christmas Vacation? Not that one either!
Name your favorite seasonal movie and in all likelihood I’ve not seen it. On the other hand, if I have seen it, I’ve seen it only once. For some reason Thomas and I just don’t watch the same movie over and over again!

To tell the truth, yesterday evening I was feeling like that elementary child left out of the clique; sort of looked down on because of my lack of sophistication and experience. Who doesn’t have a lucky number or a lucky day or a favorite Christmas movie that you watch over and over again, year after year?

Well, my story has a happy ending. Last night just before bedtime I went to YouTube to find ‘O Holy Night’ to lift my spirits. The particular version I settled on was sung by Josh Groban set to clips from the movie, The Nativity Story. Beautiful. Moving. Meaningful. The movie clips brought a depth to the lyrics and the singing was almost on a par with my friend Tim in Arkansas!

So now I can tell you with confidence that my favorite Christmas movie is The Nativity Story. I saw it once in the theatre when it came out a couple of years ago, and my Christmas gift to myself this year will be to add this DVD to our collection and sometime during the holiday season I will watch it year after year. When the discussion of favorite Christmas movies comes up I will have a contribution to make. On the other hand, since this has not been listed among the classic Christmas movies, I don’t think my friends will be very impressed.