I hope you have been having a good week filled with satisfying work and opportunities to bless others. Even though you are far away I feel your presence every day. I appreciate your love and support and prayers so much.
The other night I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my Christmas lesson in primary and I remembered this sweet little book that we have called, "Room for a Little One." It's pictured there to the left. It's about the animals who live in the stable where Jesus was born. It starts out with this donkey that has been traveling and is weary and he asks if he can rest in the stable. Then a dog comes along, a cat and a mouse and then finally Mary and Joseph come to rest from their travels. Each time a new animal comes they look around and see that the stable is already pretty full, but the animals just say don't worry we'll scooch over, there is always room for a little one. When Mary and Joseph come to the stable they see how tired they are and they see that Mary is about to give birth. They recognized that this is a very special woman who will give birth to a very special and important baby and they don't hesitate to make room for them.
Every Christmas it's the same. I start out in early November trying to get organized and make my lists, check them twice, three times and more. I look for coupons and the best bargains I can find. I make goals for how many service projects I can complete by the time Christmas comes. I always agree to organize my department service project and holiday party in addition to my regular work. I make gifts for the sisters I visit teach and make it a goal to get 100% home visits in December. I make gifts for neighbors and family. By the time my birthday comes along all I really want to do is sleep. I wake up on December 26th not just a year older, but also feeling like I missed Christmas because I was so busy. Even though my intentions are in the right place, serving others and my family, I often wonder if I have really celebrated Christmas the way I should and I resolve that next year it will be different.
This year has been a little bit different though. I have still been as busy as ever, maybe even more so with getting the house ready to sell. I'm still in charge of the department service project and party and I've been making gifts for people and getting ready to have a big baking day with Lucy on saturday and I only have one sister left on my route for 100% visiting teaching. But this year as I have been writing these posts for you, I have had to slow down and study, pray and ponder what Christmas means to me.
Whereas in the past I had no room in my schedule for anything, no room for quiet reflection, no room for solitude and seriously, no room in my resources. The results were a lackluster Christmas that didn't live up to the hype in my mind.
On that first Christmas night there was no room for Jesus in the village inn. I realized as I was preparing my primary lesson that this Christmas would have ended up just like the others if I had not prepared room for Christmas and Jesus in my heart. It's sad when we get so busy with Christmas that we don't truly participate in Christmas.
As the Christmas carol "Joy to the World" suggests, giving Jesus room in our schedules, our thoughts, our resources, and our hearts doesn't happen on its own. It takes thoughtful preparation. It takes careful planning. It takes intentional thinking. It takes opening our hearts. In short, it takes our best efforts to move Christ from the fringes to the center of our lives.
Maybe the secret to our preparing Him room lies in the way we view Christ. If we see Him in that manger year after year, we're in danger of always thinking of Him as a baby. But we can't leave Jesus there, all wrapped up in that little feeding trough. We need to unwrap Him and give Him the room He deserves by letting Him grow in our lives.
No room in our schedules means no opportunity for the Lord to do something surprising in our life. No room for quiet and reflection means no chance for us to hear the still, small voice in our thoughts. No room for solitude means no place for us to be alone with God. No room in our resources means no possibility of sacrificing to bless the lives of others and further Heavenly Father's work. No room for Christ means there is no way for us to truly appreciate Christmas.
A few years ago in the First Presidency Christmas devotional President Monson gave us this advice:
"My brothers and sisters, finding the real joy of the season comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done or in the purchasing of obligatory gifts. Really, joy comes as we show the love and compassion inspired by the Savior of the world, who said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40)
As we contemplate how we are going to spend our money to buy gifts this holiday season let us plan also for how we will spend our time in order to help bring the true spirit of Christmas into the lives of others.
The Savior gave freely to all. And His gifts were of value beyond measure. Throughout His ministry, He blessed the sick, restored sight to the blind, made the deaf to hear, and the halt and the lame to walk. He gave cleanliness to the unclean. He restored breath to the lifeless. He gave hope to the despairing, and He sowed light in the darkness.
He gave us His love, His service, and His life.
What is the spirit we feel at Christmastime? It is His spirit—the spirit of Christ.
The Christmases we remember best generally have little to do with worldly goods, but a lot to do with families, with love, and with compassion and caring.
The Savior gave freely to all. And His gifts were of value beyond measure."
Merry Christmas and Joy to the World!
Till Tomorrow,
Holley
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