great thoughts

These words were sent to me in an email from the Tabernacle Choir broadcast last week.
I love the message.

'A Christmas to Remember'

As we look forward to Christmas this year, let’s look back to Christmases past and appreciate what makes a holiday memorable. Some memories may involve less-than-perfect circumstances—and that’s all right. Few real-life celebrations resemble the slick ads and scenes in holiday movies. In fact, sometimes the most cherished Christmases take place in conditions that are not quite ideal.

Of course, it’s easy to feel discouraged when things don’t go according to our plans. But in time, families often look back and laugh about the mishaps: the year the tree fell over, the time they forgot to turn on the oven, the school program when everyone forgot their lines.

Other times, families weep when they remember more serious hardships: the year when someone was in the hospital, the year there were no presents because times were tight, the first Christmas after a loved one passed away.

As such memories fill our hearts, we would do well to recall that original Christmas night. It was not without difficulty. Mary and Joseph were far from home. No room could be found in the inn. Few comforts were available. And yet, love was born. Heavenly choirs sang. A new star lit the sky, and shepherds came to worship.

Unrealistic expectations for a picture-perfect Christmas may be misleading and actually keep us from appreciating the holiday’s more subtle yet more satisfying blessings. Everything does not have to be just right for wonderful things to happen.

No matter the circumstances for Christmas this year, cherished moments are within reach. Hold a child in your arms. Pause to look at the night sky. Welcome friends and family into your home, and listen to heavenly choirs. Give the love that only you can give, and you will have a memorable Christmas: a Christmas that recalls that first holy night when, in the lowliest of circumstances, a King was born.

This is a photo of KC and Emily a few years ago as they dramatized the nativity at the DC temple.
KC and Nicole were born in January and I still have a tender spot in my heart as I recall those long ago December months, with a large pregnant belly, and singing carols that remind me of Christ's birth and Mary's challenges.