Since I set this up yesterday, with the help of my cousin, I thought that I should probably write something to make sure #1 I know how to use it #2 to make sure I did it right. :) So, I will write about something that I have been thinking about for the last couple weeks. . .
I've struggled with Christmas the last couple years. Partially it could be because it just seems like a time that we're all competing with one another to give the best gifts, to look at our neighbors and see the things that we don't have ourselves, and couldn't afford even if we really wanted them, and the endless running around to try to please others and be where we don't really want to be, just so that we can make someone happy. I feel like the 'Spirit' of Christmas has been lost.
This was until the other day while I was at work. I was talking to a friend that I work with, and he told me that his favorite holiday was Christmas. I kind of rolled my eyes and asked him why. He started to explain, and I listened to everything he said, even though I couldn't write down anything he said. We talked about me going on the mission, and him already serving and how it meant something completely different now that he was home. After we talked I really did start to reflect on what Christmas meant to me, since I'll be gone next Christmas.
Then I got home. We all sat around the table playing games, eating popcorn and laughing so hard that we were all crying. That's when it hit me. Christmas isn't about the gifts. Next year I probably won't be able to remember more than two gifts that I got, but I will remember how when we were playing Tripoly, and dad said forlornly, "that happened to me too", or that Grandpa never gets an Ace when playing, but usually always is holding two. It is about family. I am grateful for this time of year that we all take time to get together, to laugh, to eat, and to remember the Savior and to create memories by simply being together!
