Merry Christmas!

Jared and I spend a lot of time during the Christmas season teaching our littles about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  After all, He is the reason we have Christmas.  I have been a little frustrated with my little Sadie this year, as I have felt she is missing the point with all things related to Christmas.  Sunday, in Relief Society, the sister who was teaching our lesson was talking about this very thing.  She was telling about working so hard to teach her littles about the birth of Jesus Christ.  In December her home teachers came and, of course, asked the children why we have Christmas.  They all replied with, "presents"!  I could totally relate to her as she spoke of her frustration.  Then she said something that I really needed to hear.  She said, "It took me a while to learn that the children had to learn the right answer, so they could give the right answer, but also so they could feel the right answer in their hearts."  It struck me so deeply that I cried.  In my head, I often compare Sadie to my other girls.  I have spent a lot of time this month doing this very thing.  However, in my comparing I have forgotten one incredibly important thing.  She is seven, they are twelve and fourteen.  Just like we learn line upon line, she too, will learn line upon line.  Here a little, there a little.  It's my job to just keep teaching her and to be patient with her, remembering that she's still little.

Every Christmas Eve I share a story with my family that I read in a book by Emily Freeman.  She tells of her young family when they had just two children.  They could not afford to purchase a manger scene, but she wanted one so badly that she took a small job for a few afternoons to save the money for one.  She purchased a porcelain set that portrayed children dressed in nativity clothes.  She brought it home, set it up in their family room and explained to her two small children that they couldn't touch the set because it was quite fragile.  The following morning she came down the stairs to find all the figurines squished into the manger haphazardly.  She patiently fixed the arrangement and called her young son, Caleb in to again explain that he could not touch the set.  She says, "Caleb was such an obedient child, he always had been, and I knew this would not happen again."  She continues, "Imagine my surprise when I walked down the stairs the next morning and found the scene in the same disarray as the morning before.  This time I went right in and got Caleb.  Setting him in front of the displaced nativity I asked, Did you touch the manger?  He looked up at me with his round blue eyes and replied, "Yes."  I asked him, do you remember you're not supposed to touch Mommy's manger?  Again the reply was the same, "Yes."  Then why did you touch it, I questioned.  "Because they can't see Jesus," was his simple reply.   I looked carefully at the manger and realized that perhaps there was some order to the disarray.  His clumsy little hands had tried to place every figure in a circle around the most important piece of the set--the baby in the manger.  Crowded into the small stable, each had a perfect view of the baby.  Everyone could see Jesus.  It was a profound lesson  Needless to say, the display remained that way for the rest of the season, and has every year since then.  Interestingly, once each of the figures had been carefully placed in a circle around the baby, Caleb never touched the set again.  He was content with the arrangement.  The most important figure had become the focus."

I love this story, I read it every year at the beginning of the season as a reminder to myself to make Christ be the focus of my heart.  While the gifts, baking and family gatherings are such an important part of the season, I want to always remember to put my heart where it matters most.  This season has been a different one for me.  I chose to do some things to make the month more simple.  It turned out to be the best thing I could do.  I have been blessed with many peaceful evenings in my little living room to ponder the teachings of my Savior and His love for me.  It has been a great blessing to me.

I hope this Christmas season has been as enjoyable for all of you as it has been for me.  Christmas fills my heart with gratitude for that tiny babe in Bethlehem.  I am eternally grateful for His life, His example and His love that he showed when he made the ultimate sacrifice for me and you.  May you feel His peace and love for all of you this Christmas season and always is my prayer.

Merry Christmas!  Love the Walkers