A few weeks ago, I was asked to participate in the Christmas Sacrament Program. I was shocked, humbled, and honored. I know I am not alone when I say that the Christmas Sacrament Program is one of my favorite sacrament meetings of the year. The music is beautiful. The speakers are calm and inspiring. The spirit is always so strong. Families bring other family members. And there is a feeling of excitement, peace, and happiness. Needless to say, I was nervous.
My part was small ~ only a 5 minute testimony. Sometimes I think 5 minutes is harder then 20.
I have spent the last few weeks REALLY focussing on my testimony about the events that took place on Christmas morning more then 2000 years ago.
After putting my thoughts on paper ~I am better with a script then off the cuff~ I timed and memorized my message. Then, this morning, a few minutes before church, I received a call that they had added another speaker and asked if I'd make my 5 minute talk/testimony 2-3 minutes. Yikes!
What did I REALLY want to say? What is my testimony of my Savior? My testimony has come from my experiences. I am so grateful for those times in my life when the spirit has testified to me of the truthfulness of this gospel and that I have a Savior, and Redeemer. That is what I chose to share.
Christmas is a season filled with traditions, gatherings, gifts, holly, & mistletoe - but it is a time to Celebrate and Ponder the birth of Jesus Christ.
As a new mom in 1996, awake early Christmas morning, I stood in my family room with only the soft light of the Christmas tree, and rocked my 11 day old daughter. Tired and Weary, I snuggled and quieted my little girl and in that quiet moment, I began to ponder the events of that Christmas morning, many years ago. When another ~ tired and weary mother ~ rocked her baby in a stable, wrapped in swaddled clothes.
I wondered, what were her thoughts? Did she know what her son would become and what He’d have to endure? Did she know that the baby she cradled in her arms was born to become our Savior?
That Christmas, I was filled with humble gratitude. I KNEW... that because of that Christmas, long ago, the little girl I was holding in MY arms would be mine forever. The gifts under my tree - no longer mattered. I had already been given the greatest of all gifts - a Savior.
I have believed and known my entire life that families are forever. But a few Christmas ago, I had to apply that knowledge to my own life. It was the first Christmas without my mom. As my family gathered together, we exchanged gifts, reminisced, and cried. We struggled as we tried to Celebrate. That year, my heart was heavy, but I understood better the phrase in a familiar Christmas song, “the thrill of hope, a weary world rejoiceth.” We were weary but we had hope ~ and we rejoiced.
I KNOW that because Jesus Christ was born, because He lived, and because He died, I will one day be reunited my sweet mom, who I miss so much. My family is eternal.
I still enjoy the traditions of Christmas - the lights, the gifts, the holly, and mistletoe. But I have a strong testimony of my Heavenly Father’s love and of his son, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate.
All at this time of Christmas, this season when gifts are given, let us not forget that God gave His Son, and His Son gave His life, that each of us might have the gift of eternal life ~ This is my testimony and my prayer - in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
