Merry Christmas

In two days most Christians will be celebrating the birth of our Lord, Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. My family and I will be part of that celebration. It is a time for reflection, for tuning in to what it is we’re doing that is indicative of our dedication to following that Central Figure of all creation, the Only Begotten Son of God our Father. One thing I’ve been a little preoccupied with lately is just taking stock of what all He’s done for us.

Of course, we have the beautiful world He created for us—one of the witnesses to all those who will see, that God does, in deed exist, and that He certainly does love us. I can’t travel in this world without discovering or rediscovering beauty in God’s creations. I love the Rocky Mountains—and other mountains, rivers, rocks, streams, the ocean, the forests of redwood, pine and other trees, and all the fantastic varieties of life, plant and animal and people. I could go on and on and on about all the wonders of creation I’ve discovered, which are, limited to be sure.

I love the symbolism—and reality—of Him, Christ, being the light and life of the world. If you’ve ever been in a room without light, or a dark forest without the moon or any other light where you were unable to see anything, you know how it can be very frightening and unsettling. It’s like being in the dark world without knowledge of a loving God and His Only Begotten Son. But, in the Light of Christ, we feel love and warmth and goodness, like being on the beach in the morning sunlight that warms us outside and in.

He, the Savior, is a Miraculous Gift from our Heavenly Father, the essence of love divine in everything He ever did—and still does! His Atoning sacrifice is incomprehensible to the mortal mind. How grateful I am to know that He loves me, and each of His children, wherever they may be, whether they know Him, believe in Him, accept Him or not, yet He loves them. I love the hymns of Christmas, Handel’s Messiah, being kind of the pinnacle of the great Christmas music, to me.

I’m so grateful to know of Christ because of the prophets who recorded not only the prophecies concerning His birth, life, atonement, death, and resurrection, but recorded as well, the actual events they were privileged to experience for themselves so that they could, thereby, testify to us and all the world of their reality!

So Merry Christmas to everyone, everywhere. May Christ be in our hearts at this time of year, and always!