My Dear Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley once said. " What a glorious season is the time of Christmas. Hearts are softened. Voices are raised in worship. Kindness and mercy are re-enthroned as elements in our lives."
This is so true. I love this time of the year for the love that I see just shining off of each persons face. Those in the Store that usually do not greet you are fast to wish you the best holiday. There is singing every where you turn ( or at least Humming along to the radio as it plays many well known christmas melodies) Children seem to just shine with kindness ( even if it is to make sure they make in on the "nice list" ) Every where you turn the true meaning of Christmas is shining out for all to see. Though for some reason we forget the meaning all together. How is this with the Love pretty much shouting out for us. The True meaning of Christmas is love. Its the selfless acts we see, the kindness filling each heart as they share what little they have with those around them.
I Have a few stories I wish to share of the Examples of the love and kindness that is streaming out from the heart of those who know how to keep Christmas.
As I was growing up I was often told the story of the children who had wished for alot for Christmas and got just that. They had seen a family with nothing and on Christmas their father had asked them if they wanted to give one of their many gifts to this family and the children gave up all their gifts so that this family could have the best Christmas ever. ( the story went some thing like that. Forgive me if I am wrong) and in return those children that gave the gifts had the happiest Christmas they had ever had.
Tonight I logged into Facebook to see that a Dear friend had posted this touching Story for all to see and to spread the Christmas Spirit far and wide. "The doorbell rang a little while ago. When I answered I saw a beautiful plate of cookies and an envelope waiting on our doorstep. In the bushes there were little children giggling and trying to hide. When I went to investigate, they dashed off before I could see who they were. Shouting a 'Merry Christmas' to them I went back inside and opened the card. Inside I found $150 and a simple note: 'Merry Christmas.'-I am speechless and humbled."
I can even say that my family has been touched by such wonders. One year my Dad had been out of work for so long and there was going to be very little under the tree and also on the table. In fact we did not even know if I was going to make it home for Christmas since I was 4 hours away at college. But miracles seemed to flood upon us. My parents found a plastic jug of coin on there step and tho it might not have seemed like a huge deed it happened to have counted out to about $50, just enough to get me home. And the miracles did not stop there. "Santa" Came to the Marshall home a few hours early that year, For when we returned home from a christmas eve get-together at grandmas we all stood in aw by the neatly placed boxes on our porch. There were two of them. One huge box and one smaller but still large. both over flowing with gifts. Some wrapped and some not. There was gifts for my sister and a card for my mother and I. There was pretty mush a whole Christmas dinner in there and many beautifully wrapped gifts for my sister and one for my father. Dad opened one card to find a $50 Gas card to pay the way for me to return to school. And mom being now so interested in what was in our cards peaked to see that we each had $100 card to walmart. We all started to cry. For this was more than we needed to light the Christmas spirit in our home. And even my Dad sat in tears long after and bore his testimony to me. ( that was the best Christmas gift of all). I was able to buy the things that I was in bad need of at college. And Elisabeth had many new toys to open. And my father got the scriptures on tape that he was lacking. And each of us had been given some thing that no amount of gifts could measure up to. Love. We new the love that Christmas is all about.
Some day when I have the means to I wish to pass that gift along. I long to be able to do such a thing for a family that is in the state that mine has been in. I know that there may be many more Christmas's like that for me and my family in the future. Even this year It saddens me to see my family struggle to get into the Christmas spirit as they see the things that we can not afford. But it is not the price that is on the gift or what even lies under the festive wrap. It is that it was given. To me I really do not mind if I was to go with out from now until the end of time for I know the meaning of Christmas is none of that. It is Love. " For God so LOVED the world.." Love.
There is more to Christmas than Ribbons and bows. It is much much more.
| "And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?" |
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