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| Wise men seek Him still. |
While anyone who knows me can attest that I have a flare for
the dramatic, I've never really been a fan of theatrics when it comes to sacred
things. Certain aspects of things like pioneer trek reenactments can make me
feel uncomfortable, simply because that's not how I feel the spirit. So when
Relief Society on Sunday started off with a Christmas tree with presents on it,
and the lesson was for different sisters to go up and unwrap the gifts of
Christ, I confess that I rolled my eyes a bit and started reading a talk on my
phone. The Relief Society president in the ward I was attending had just been
released, and one of the sisters in the ward told me that it was because she's
been incredibly sick for the past several years without any relief in sight. As
the women started opening the "gifts" on the tree, they would call up
the next sister to open the next one. When the newly-released Relief Society
president went up and opened her "gift," she read, "this that
the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the
sicknesses of his people… and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his
bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know
according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”
Needless to say, quite a few people were crying by the end.
Some might call that a coincidence, that a woman suffering deeply from physical
illness pulls a wrapped quote off a Christmas tree that talks about the power
of Christ to heal, and to succor those with illness. But I don’t buy that. I
felt chagrined that I was skeptical of this teaching method, when clearly there
were people getting the support they needed from it. As always, God is
aware of what’s going on, and taking care of things.
I think for me, that is a true spirit of Christmas; all that
is unfair about life WILL be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
There are so many times when it seems that’s an impossible statement, when you
look around at all the injustice in the world. But incredibly enough, I believe
it with all that I am. It is precisely the difficulties of this life that make
the light of Christ so beautiful to me. He is the light because it is through
Him that we can see everything around us. “May the beautiful lights of every
holiday season remind us of Him who is the source of all light.”
Looking back, it’s been a rough year. It’s been a wonderful
year. A year full of miracles, loneliness, tender mercies, frustration, music,
tears, long days followed by late nights, change and moments that made me laugh
so hard it hurt. Throughout all of it, I feel great hope for what is to come. Because
fortunately, I’m not the one in charge. Merry Christmas, all you wonderful,
lovely people!
