Christmas Sacrifice

Hi Mom,

In the parking lot right outside my office is a rather large Holly Tree. I park right in front of it every day. I consider that tree my personal parking placard. So every day I come to work I consider myself a VIP. No one else in my department has a personalized tree right in front of their parking space.

I love that "Holly" has become such an important symbol and decoration of the Christmas season. Legend tells us that holly berries were originally white, but that the blood Christ shed for the sins of humankind stained the berries forever red. A holly's pointed leaves symbolize the crown of thorns placed on Jesus' head before he died on the cross. Holly is a symbol of Christ's love and sacrifice for us.

Today's Christian attribute is Sacrifice. Another excerpt from Elder Hales talk:

"Christian sacrifice. Throughout His life the Savior gave of His time, His energy, and ultimately, through the Atonement, gave Himself so that all of God’s children could be resurrected and have the opportunity to inherit eternal life."

With all the festivities, glitz, glamour, and optimism generally attached to Christmas is there a time and a place when the concept of sacrifice might be an appropriate topic for reflection? Well, some may consider all the effort they put into preparing for the various celebrations as a sort of sacrifice of their time, talents and abilities. Others may suggest that the extra hours they put in at work, specifically related to serving others at Christmas, are a form of sacrifice. Even more, there may well be those who insist that the sheer level of effort demanded of them to select, purchase, and exchange presents is itself a type of sacrifice, considering all of the mental and emotional stress it can cause. Christmas is truly a time to reflect upon sacrifice (as an underlying theme), but none of the things I've listed are, by definition, the nature of sacrifice Christmas should bring to mind. That's not to say that the hours one spends preparing for Christmas is not important. It's all a matter of perspective and intentions.

I've mentioned before how much I always enjoyed when we would watch the Christmas specials on TV. One of my favorites has always been, "Frosty the Snowman." In the sweet, cartoon a brand of sacrifice is well exemplified that truly attaches iteself to this underlying theme of Christmas. As you know, Frosty sacrifices his own well-being in favor of Karen, the little girl he befriended. The sacrifice made by Frosty results in his apparent and untimely death. However, this sacrifice does not go unrewarded as he is miraculously reformed because he is made of "Christmas" snow. The beauty of this sacrifice is that Frosty sought out nothing in return. Frosty maintained a sense of selflessness throughout that did not question others nor did it demand of others. Frosty truly dedicated himself to the cause of serving those who could not otherwise serve themselves. A Christmas sacrifice.

This theme of sacrifice is honored most aptly at Christmas as we celebrate the birth of a Child who even from the time of His birth was marked for sacrifice. This Child, Jesus, knew the purpose for  which He came into the world and yet never questioned the will of His Father. Jesus set an unprecedented standard for serving others. Not only in the way he lived his life but also in the unmatched emotional, mental and physical stress He endured to pay the ransom for each of us.

Another one of the conference talks that I enjoyed this past conference was by Elder Robert C. Gay. He said:

 "The question before us is not whether we are doing things which need correcting, because we always are. Rather, the question is, will we “shrink” or “finish” the call upon our soul to do the will of the Father? The Lord loves our righteousness but asks of us continued repentance and submission. In the Bible we read that it was a commandment-keeping, wealthy young man who knelt before the Savior and asked what he needed to do to have eternal life. He turned away grieved when the Savior said, 'One thing thou lackest: … sell whatsoever thou hast.'"

In other words in order to fulfill our personal mission on earth, each of us must try to learn what it means to sacrifice. Elder Gay continues:

"This is the exchange the Savior is asking of us: we are to give up all our sins, big or small, for the Father’s reward of eternal life. We are to forget self-justifying stories, excuses, rationalizations, defense mechanisms, procrastinations, appearances, personal pride, judgmental thoughts, and doing things our way. We are to separate ourselves from all worldliness and take upon us the image of God in our countenances."

I am so grateful to you mom for the countless examples of faith and sacrifice you have demonstrated for me through the years. This Christmas I am trying hard to be mindful of my blessings and to find ways to cultivate an attitude of gratitude in all things, particularly the birth, life and atonement of our Savior. This Christmas my prayer is that we can pause from the noise, hectic merriments, and worry-induced activity and reflect upon the sacrifice of the Babe of Bethlehem, Jesus, who laid down His life on behalf of all people -- A Christmas Sacrifice.

Til Tomorrow,

Holley