Hiiiiii! A message from me to YOU as we celebrate Christmas!
When we celebrate Christ’s birth, we are celebrating everything we wouldn’t have it it weren’t for Him. Like the many, many years that passed between prophesy and awaiting the star to appear of His birth, let’s not allow passing time to bring doubt or loss of faith in what’s promised to us.
I taught the Christmas lesson for the YW last year. I cut out a star and taped it to the ceiling before class started. Halfway through my lesson, I asked the girls if any of them had noticed it. Most of them did not.
But just because they didn’t see the star, doesn’t change the fact that it was there.
And similarly, just because there were those who didn’t notice the star when Christ was born, didn’t change the fact that it was there.
Just because people didn’t believe it when they did “see” it, doesn’t change the fact that it was a greatly anticipated sign and prophesy that was fulfilled and the Savior of the world really did come. And just because it came years and years after prophesy, and I’m sure some lost faith that it even will come at all, doesn’t change the fact that it was all still true and God had kept His promise.
When we celebrate Christ’s birth we’re celebrating everything that we wouldn’t have if it weren’t for Him. If Christ wasn’t born, we wouldn’t have eternal families. We wouldn’t have resurrection or eternal life at all. We would die and that would be the end of everything. If it weren’t for Christ’s birth, we wouldn’t have real happiness. We wouldn’t have hope during trials or in our future. We wouldn’t have guidance. Warnings. Forgiveness. Repentance. Healing. Strength. Comfort. A chance to change. Miracles. Blessings. When we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating all of these things, +more!
One of my favorite accounts of the birth of Christ is in 3rd Nephi. There was a day set that all the believers were going to be murdered unless the star came. They needed Christ in order to live. I can’t imagine the fear most of them probably had, a true test to see if they really, truly, believed. I can’t imagine how many people may have started to doubt because of the passing time between prophesy. Well, the sign came in the perfect timing-it came the very night that was set for them to be killed. They were spared, and many converted. It truly was a miracle.
But only a few short years passed when they began to forget the “signs and wonders” that they saw. They began to doubt and question if what they even saw really happened at all.
Like the many, many years awaiting the star of Christ’s birth, let’s not allow passing time to bring doubt or loss of faith in what’s promised to us. Let’s not lose patience and miss out on what He has in store for us. Let’s stay confident in our patriarchal blessings, our priesthood blessings, and that which is said from prophet’s, apostles, scriptures and God and Christ themselves.
All of the promises, all of the blessings we are trying so hard to attain are all written in the scriptures as past tense, “prepared.” They’re already there! Heavenly father has already spent the time, the love, the work, and the effort in preparing the absolute best, ever created. And we can have it. Not just in the eternities, but here, daily, in mortality, if we just keep going and if we just look to Christ.
Just like the primary hymn, we may find ourselves wondering, “are you really there?”
But like the star I put in our classroom, that perhaps just because we may not be looking or noticing, doesn’t mean that He isn’t.
And just like in 3rd Nephi, we too, need Christ in order to truly live.
So, as we plan and celebrate and ponder the birth of Christ, I hope we choose every day in all our situations to look for the “star.” To look for Christ and those things that come because of Him. That we look for the promised signs given to us. Look for the promised blessings given to us. Look for the hope, guidance, comfort, and blessings that are always there because Christ was born. They are always there, every day, in every situation because Christ is always here, still. Alive. With us. If we but look.
Perhaps our gift to Christ should be the gift of remembrance and focus and of faith in His promises and His time frame. Let’s not allow time or the adversary bring doubt or forgetfulness to the comfort and witnesses of truth and miracles of Christ that we have felt and experienced. Let us recognize that those feelings of hope and love and comfort and acts of forgiveness and the chance to change and become better and those feelings that we are not alone are from and because of Christ. That every day He is showing He is there for us. That we take time every day to look for, and write them down, lest we forget.
Let’s choose to have faith and not allow passing time to dim the truth and promises or prophecies given to us. Let’s choose have faith like those in 3 Nephi and expect and notice the “star”— notice those things listed above that we have from and because of Christ. Let’s live like the shepherds and move closer to Him. Let’s keep our promise to endure to the end and not forget which we have felt and experienced. This is the season where we should evaluate ourselves and make sure we are keeping our end of the promise that we made to our Savior, because He did.
This is all true and no matter what, God keeps His promises.
We find what we look for. Look for the good.
Look for the ‘star’—for Christ. Because He is there.
Every day. Because He still lives.
You are loved.
You are noticed.
You are important.
You are His. And that is everything.
I hope you have the best Christmas – sending love & prayers your way!
xox AL
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