I am in THE most Christmasy mood ever. I have been feeling so full of the spirit of Christmas and so grateful for the Savior, I could just burst. I've done a few Christmas things that have contributed to this such as attending the First Presidency Christmas devotional last Sunday where the Prophet and his first two counselors gave us some amazing direction, which included counsel to give the Lord our best selves this Christmas, and I had a renewed commitment to do so. I appreciated President Uchtdorf reminding us that we can't give Him perfection, since we're imperfect people, but we can give Him our best foot forward. That's asking for a lot if you think about the greatness that we're really capable of, but it's the least we can do for He who has given us everything, including His life.
President Eyring talked about remembering the gifts that the Lord has given us--holy smokes, so many--and giving to others. I made a goal to serve someone in some way every single day this month and i really changed everything I had been feeling. I was in a bit of a low and feeling less than charitable and acting as such. Now I feel so much closer to the Lord and so much happier. I'm so grateful for prophetic counsel. I especially loved the Mormon Tabernacle Choir who opened the devotional by singing The First Noel, which was SO beautiful and really made me reflect about the Savior and all He has done for my family and I, particularly lately. There have been some significant struggles in my family this past year and I've seen those I love make huge breakthroughs in their personal progression despite those trials and it makes my heart burn with gratitude that the Lord watches out for them just as He does for me and makes things that seem impossible, possible.
Then I attended the Forgotten Carols with my dad, mom, sister and niece. We've gone to this performance for like the last trillion years, so it's fun to see how it's progressed. I was mostly surprised that I was so touched by the message this year. I've always felt like Michael McClain was a bit of a cheeseball and I'm not his #1 fan, but I was tearing up with the rest of them. I thought about all of the homeless people out there as they sang my favorite song in that performance about how Christ was homeless too, in essence, and I just wished I could wrap all of the homeless people in the world up in a Snuggie and give them some warm food and a place to sleep. I have a friend who works as a security guard at Gateway Mall and he told me about several people who go to the restrooms at night and lock the stall and fall asleep on the toilet. That kind of reality truly breaks my heart. How cold, miserable and utterly lonely. I also cried a little for the protagonist, Constance, who was holding in a lot of pain from the past and hurt in the present because she was lonely, isolated and not recognizing or accepting what joy could be hers if she let it in. I think we can all relate to that to a certain extent.
Another fun Christmas thing I did was get together with my middle school friends for our 12th annual (or so) Girls Night Out. We exchanged Christmas CDs then did very stereotypical girl things like looking up cute famous guys online, sharing craft tips and fashion advice and eating Christmas treats. It was so great.
My church ward and I also bought gifts last Monday for some families who are down on their luck and wrapped them and will deliver them tomorrow. I cannot wait! It was SO fun picking out items for little 3-year-old Tasha who may not have gotten warm clothes this year otherwise.
Tuesday, my roomies and I had some people over to watch Elf and drink hot chocolate. What a good time! Elf had me LOLing the entire time. Nothing like the awkward and talented Will Ferrell in a large green suit and great friends to make Christmas that much better. And I went to the Gateway and tried on this ridiculous $30 hat.
Next, I went to see Arthur Christmas and loved it WAY more than I should have! I imagine I loved it more than all the 5 year olds who were there. I was so touched by Arthur's love and concern for each child. That's exactly how God is. He loves each and every one of us and goes to extreme measures daily to ensure that we are taken care of, even when we may feel forgotten or lost. He truly cares about every single one of us and has engraven us on His palms and wants to wipe all of the tears from our eyes. At the end of the movie, it showed what each character was doing a year later and how they were happy doing it, but when it was Arthur's turn it said that he was the one who made every one else happy. So sweet. That's who I would hope to be and strive to be. I may or may not have cried a little in that one.
The most recent thing I did that stamped the Christmas spirit in my heart was sing in my church choir. The hymns were so beautiful and overwhelmed me with the most incredible spirit. It felt so amazing. One cannot feel that way and doubt the existence or love of God. I loved watching my friends in the audience and seeing how the music was affecting them. I loved being an instrument to help bring peace and spirit into their hearts. There's something so incredibly powerful about music and I was so grateful to be apart of the little ward choir praising the Lord through beautiful Christmas music. Even if I am a self-designated sopran-alto and had to sit strategically in the middle of the sopranos and altos so as to not ruin everything for everyone.
Oh how I love Christmas and all that it stands for. Despite all the bad in the world, there is so much more good that takes place everyday, in small and large ways. But mostly small I think. People being and doing good in simple ways that are extremely significant in the end. Christ instills His love into our hearts and it motivates people to be more, to be better, to be kinder. And that love is more powerful that we can comprehend, if we let it be.
