My favorite lines from the First Presidency Christmas Devotional were spoken by President Henry B. Eyring. He spoke about Light. He began by talking about the angels who appeared to the shepherds who then visited the baby Jesus.
They were drawn on that sacred night to go to the Savior. What they saw with their physical eyes in the stable was a tiny baby. What they went to verify was visible only through spiritual feelings. We know that the Light of Christ is an influence we can recognize by its effects.
The Savior said, “For behold, it is I that speak. Behold, I am the light which shineth in darkness and by my power I give these words unto thee. Now verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good. Yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously. This is my Spirit. Verily, verily I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy.” (D&C 11:11-13, emphasis added) (I transcribed this by hand because the text wasn’t available. Hopefully I got it right.)
This was a good message for me. Although I only have the symbols of the Savior around me, I can still see Him with spiritual eyes. I love the scripture President Eyring used to tell us how to accomplish this. I learned that if we want to have a spiritual experience at Christmas, the Spirit of Christmas leads us to act, not just in tangible ways, but in the way we think of others. It is a call to be gentle in our appraisal of others. It is this kind of giving that will bring us the joy we hope to have at Christmas.
I’m focusing on being generous in my thoughts. This means I am giving everyone the benefit of the doubt in my mind and words. I’m avoiding criticism and negativity. It’s a simple formula to help me see beyond the well-intentioned busy-ness of Christmas.
What stood out to you in this quote? What are you doing to embrace the season?
Because the devotional starts at bedtime in the east, we haven’t usually watched it. But this year we did. It was a nice moment with the kids. I set them up with crayons and instructions to draw pictures for grandparents and got to sit and soak it in. What stood out most……the story of receiving a dill pickle christmas morning. I loved how it didn’t turn out with a big box on the porch, etc. but merely a dime. How the moment was turned to gratitude and blessings came pouring in after. We love what we have and then the windows of heaven are opened. I also cried about the story in west jordan, it struck me how good people are and how tender each little act was to celebrate that little boy. having recently lost a good friend to breast cancer, this hit close to home. So loving what I have is my focus this year and giving for the sake of giving. And I’m giving myself the joy of learning to play a christmas song on the piano. I’m surprised how much joy this is bringing me.