Most mornings I wake up to some kind of tune running through my head. Most days that goes away so quickly that within 30 minutes I couldn’t tell you what it was. Today, I remembered and made note because they spoke to me. Actually, I woke up with one tune and then another one joined it. The first one was
Buffalo gals won’t you come out tonight
Come out tonight come out tonight
Buffalo gals won’t you come out tonight
And we’ll dance by the light of the moon. (Words by Arlo Guthrie)
Once I realized what was going through my head my first thought was that I might be suffering some signs of dementia. But then I thought about why I know that song. I know it from the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. It was George and Mary’s song and keeps playing throughout the movie. I realized that in this time of COVID-19 there are many folks, young and old, whose dreams for right now or the near future are being broken. The wedding with only 10 persons present, or no prom, no spring sports, no NBA finals, no Cubs to watch, no graduation ceremonies, no chance to say goodbye before leaving school, or jobs, or homes.
George suffered from hanging on to dreams that no longer really mattered. He had dreamed of going to college, traveling the world, and leaving the Savings and Loan behind. Every time he thought he was getting to leave Bedford Falls, a major event kept him home. What he didn’t notice along the way was that a better reality had become his life, and it took nearly dying by suicide (and Harold the angel!) for him to realize it. That was the message I needed today, not the words of the song. In these days of broken dreams, what can we see about our present life that is actually better than those dreams? What is God revealing to us in these days?
The second tune was It’s a Small World. I learned it for a city-wide concert in 6th grade and the words have stayed with me all these years. (No fair counting them!) It opens with these words
It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears
It’s a world of hopes and a world of fears
There’s so much that we share that it’s time we’re aware
It’s a small world after all (Disney) We each have unique experiences of this pandemic, but we are all in it together. Let’s keep working on ways to support one another through words, donations, and actions that maintain safe distances. Let us help one another find what God is revealing to us and rejoice in what we find.