A Christmas Message

I was responsible for the spiritual thought in this month's ward newsletter.  Here is what I wrote.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, the Christmas season.  Especially for children, Christmas holds magic and mystery, anticipation and excitement.  I remember what it was like to wait seemingly endless weeks for Christmas and Santa to arrive.  I loved to decorate the tree, bake sugar cookies, and go caroling.  And I loved to wake on Christmas morning and see presents spilling out from underneath the tree, hoping that many of them were for me.

I still love to decorate the tree, bake sugar cookies, and go caroling.  I have, however, grown out of the anxious anticipation of what lies under the tree for me.  My children take care of that now.  For weeks, Brandt and Blythe have been pouring over catalogs and magazines, drooling over all the choices of fun things they would like to have for their very own selves.  I have been hearing “I want, I want” many, many times, but I have been trying to encourage the children to decide what they want the most because in reality, they want for nothing.

As I look at the bounties we enjoy as a family I realize I, too, want for nothing.  We are in good health, we have a comfortable home, Kent has a good job that allows me to stay home with our children, we are surrounded by good people, and much of our extended family lives close by.  We are members of Christ’s true church and enjoy the fullness of the gospel.  I have a testimony of God’s love for me and our family, I know Jesus Christ is our Savior, and I get to work in Primary with our Heavenly Father’s choicest spirits.  And as I write this, I am listening to our children and the neighbors out laughing as they swing together.  What more could I possible want?

I want this Christmas season to be about giving and not receiving.  I want to help my neighbor, my sister, my friend, my brother.  I want to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5).  I want to serve, I want to provide comfort, I want to show forth a greater measure of love and compassion and empathy.  I want more patience, more diligence, and more determination to choose the right every single time.  I want to see every person I meet as a brother or sister and treat them with kindness.  I want others to see in me a true disciple of Christ.  And as we celebrate Christ’s birth, I want to work harder at preparing myself and my family for His second coming.  And I want to make sure to eat more peppermint candy ice cream this year than I did last. 

May your Christmas season be one of joy and happiness, and may Christ’s love live in each of our hearts. 

Merry Christmas!