A Prayer of Faith

Before Sunday, 3 December, I found myself succumbing to a creeping “bah humbug” attitude, brought on by the early start and frequent ads of the commercial Christmas season.

I felt my heart begin to thaw (perhaps “defrost” would be a better word, since I wasn’t too far gone!) in Sacrament meeting when we sang Christmas songs and shared testimonies. Then that evening was the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Not really wanting to venture out in the cold, I listened over the Internet. The defrosting was quickly complete. The encouragement, testimonies, and stories of the First Presidency were heartwarming to hear. To be reminded of the real meaning of Christmas was what I needed and what I received.

Christmas is first and foremost about Christ–celebrating His birth and remembering His life and death and all that those mean to us. Along with that, one way we can celebrate His life is to live by His teachings. Those teachings were often about loving our neighbor and showing charity to others. In small ways and large, we can start today looking for ways to help others–whether it is a visit or a smile or a Christmas card or taking time to make a phone call and listen. Sometimes, listening can be the very best gift of all.

The music during the devotional reached me, as well. While the music was lovely to listen to, it was the words that touched me greatly. As I listened to “Away in a Manger” and “O, Little Town of Bethlehem” I could picture the scenes in my mind. I could see Mary and Joseph and the stable and the manger, the animals, the wisemen, the shepherds. I could see the new baby that was Jesus. That lovely simplicity was a wonder to contemplate. Perhaps that is the reason I am so fond of nativity scenes–there is a simplicity about the very beginning of the life of Jesus Christ, who would go on to become our Savior and our Redeemer.

I pray that I can hold this simple, peaceful feeling in my heart, not only for this Christmas season, but all year, every year.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 5th, 2006 at 12:29 am and is filed under Whisperings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.