It's a Pokenberry Christmas

George and Eugene emerge from the river and take shelter at the Twin Peaks Motel. Eugene believes he has saved George from ending his life, while George explains that he had only been thinking. He does admit that he wishes he had never come to Pokenberry Falls - or even become a pastor - because everyone might be better without his failures.

Strange details begin piling up. Their soaked clothes become completely dry, George temporarily loses hearing in one ear, and Whit has vanished from the motel records. The desk clerk has never heard of Jimmy Barclay, although George remembers meeting her through his son. Eugene wonders whether their plunge through the river somehow carried them into a reality where George’s wish has come true.

George stops at the bicycle shop to apologize again. This time Mr. Welsh says his wife left him three years ago and took their son, and he has never met George. Ellis Birch arrives as a homeless man seeking a cardboard box and does not recognize his pastor. Mr. Welsh claims that Ellis stole money from the church.

The Barclay house stands abandoned. Officer Bond catches George and Eugene on the property but has no memory of George, the family, or the First Church of Pokenberry Falls. Eugene’s explanation about an alternate reality nearly gets them arrested, and they agree to leave quietly.

George telephones Whit’s End. Whit recognizes Eugene but is shocked to hear George’s voice. In this version of events, George had lost his job, abandoned his faith, and withdrawn from everyone. Mary, Donna, and Jimmy eventually left him, and Whit has never heard of Stewart at all. George himself disappeared years ago.

The church property has become part of Lionel’s golf course. Eugene explains that without George, no one stopped the demolition, helped the congregation remain together, or provided Christmas meals for people in need. George’s ministry has touched lives in ways that his discouragement prevented him from seeing.

Desperate to find his family, George tears through national telephone directories at the library until Officer Bond returns to arrest him. Eugene distracts the officer with a giant-phone-book trick, allowing George to flee. Alone again, George begs God to undo his wish. He no longer cares what hardships await him; he wants his family, his church, and the calling he had rejected.

George awakens beside the river. He had struck his head while diving after Eugene, and Whit is now standing over both of them. His hearing has returned, the broken bicycle pedal is still in his pocket, and everyone remembers him. Overjoyed, George runs through Pokenberry Falls wishing buildings, businesses, Lionel, and even nearby Rupert a merry Christmas.

At home, George embraces Mary and all four children with new gratitude. He learns that Mary told a few people about the church’s crisis, and residents have spread throughout town collecting contributions. They arrive in a long line, eager to help their pastor and preserve the church that has served them.

Mr. Welsh brings Stewart a brand-new bicycle and offers more lessons from Tommy. George gratefully accepts the gift but promises that he will make time to teach his son himself. The community’s generosity supplies the help Lionel had refused and shows George how deeply his work has mattered.

Donna raises a toast to the best pastor in town. Whit gives George a book titled The Success of Failure, dedicated to the friend who inspired it, with the reminder, “No man is a failure who loves God.” George may be the only pastor in Pokenberry Falls, but surrounded by his family, congregation, and friends on Christmas, he knows he is where he has been called to serve.