Giving Christ My Son

I ran across this poem today and it expresses my feelings this year so well. This originally looked like it would be the worst Christmas ever as I will have hugged and sent 3 kids off to new lands since August and they will not be home for Christmas. One got married and moved and isn't coming home for Christmas. Another is moving with her family to the opposite coast for several years for her hubs to finish grad school the week before Christmas and my baby is serving a  2 year mission for our church, so the only contact I have with him is through a weekly email on Monday and I get a phone call from him on Christmas and Mother's day. It's already hard enough that we also have a child that lives in Texas with 4 grandbabies that we hardly ever get to see. Thank heavens one child is still here so I can get hugs and a grandma fix now and then from him!!!  I thought my heart would break at the thoughts of the emptiness in our home for Christmas and the fact that our traditions would not be able to happen because of all this,  but instead, somehow my heart has been filled to overflowing with joy this year.  I have found different ways to still do some of the traditions, maybe not on the exact day we usually do them and maybe not in the same way, but by reaching out and involving others, some of the traditions will continue. Others will be put on hold temporarily until the sweet day when we are all together again! Maybe this joy I feel is because I had nothing else to do but serve others and maybe it's the blessing of giving Christ my son for two years. Either way, as lonely as it seemed, this has been a most amazing Christmas season so far!

A MISSIONARY CHRISTMAS
I skipped the sales after Thanksgiving. The thrill just wasn’t there.
No pictures taken with Santa Claus. My decorating has no flair.
His presents are shoes, shirts, and ties, two suits and socks… no fun.
I’ve bought him all white clothes because this year I’m giving Christ my son.

I’ve spent more time in the temple, my testimony stirred.
I’ve re-read November’s Ensign, felt strength come from His words.
Our family prays more frequently. My tears are quick to run.
Abraham seems closer because this year I’m giving Christ my son.

I wonder how those Lamanite mothers gave their sons to war?
Or how the pioneers chose Zion—their sacrifice was so much more.
My loss will be his presence. I’ll miss his smile a ton.
For two years we will pray for him. I’m giving Christ my son.

I stare at his face when he’s not looking. I memorize his eyes, their shine.
He’s always hungered for the part of him, that makes his soul divine.
The stories and lessons he always heard. His choice and mine are one.
I’ll put my faith in God’s hand. This year, I’m giving Him my son.

Past gifts have lost their glitter. I think I finally understand
Christ’s birth should be celebrated by giving Him a hand.
It’s because I know Christ lives and reigns that all his packing’s done.
My gift has taken years to make. This year I’m giving Christ my son.

I know there’s One who understands the sacrifice I’m making.
Who knows the gift I willingly give, the toll it will be taking.
For He has done it all before. Greater love — there could be none.
For years ago God gave to me His only begotten son.

The hands I washed, the hands I held, the hands I taught to pray—
Now knock on doors to find the ones who will listen to what he’ll say.
Because I know Christ needs him until all the gathering’s done.
My gift has taken years to make. This year I’m giving Christ my son.
— Author Unknown

Seminary Diaries ~ Are We Not All Beggars?

I recently had a humbling experience while preparing for a seminary lesson. I was teaching a lesson on helping the poor and needy and I used a talk by Jeffrey R Holland, entitled, Are We Not All Beggars . In this talk he references the Savior and how he was essentially homeless for most of his adult life. I totally get why that was. He had to live in humble circumstances for the whole plan and atonement and everything to have worked the way it did… I totally get that. That is not a new idea for me.

But what struck me about that concept was the contrast in that situation and how very blessed I am in my life. My husband and I ahave been kind of looking around for a home to buy and I have recognized that we have turned down several really nice homes because they don’t meet our requirements. They don’t have a large kitchen with lots of cabinets to store all my “stuff”. Or they don’t have a 5 piece master bath. Or the master bedroom isn’t big enough for a king size bed and a living room set (insert exaggerated expression here). We have been looking for certain characteristics in a home because we felt that we have sacrificed over the years and that we have “earned” the right to have certain comforts in our next home. Then I watch a video where someone is pointing out that the Son of Man had no place to lay his head. WOW!!! I feel sufficiently humbled.

It makes me take a step back and recognize that we are so truly blessed. Abundantly blessed with so many temporal blessings that I can’t even begin to count them all. Blessed that we have an income and a roof over our head and food to eat and warm clothing and a soft place to rest my weary body at the end of the day. Those are 5 basic things that the Savior did not have on a regular basis. Who am I to complain about the things that I have not been blessed with. It doesn’t matter how many bathtubs are in my home or how many cabinets are in my kitchen. What matters most is if I am willing to share what is in my home with anyone who is in need.

We also watched a video that was a social experiment by a couple of guys. One dressed in a suit and looked like a successful business man and took a set of crutches and hit the streets and purposely stumbled and every time, people stopped to help him. The other dressed like a homeless man and also took a set of crutches and did the exact same things, but time after time, people just kept walking and going about their business. Finally someone went to his aid… and get this… it was another homeless man! It was so hard to watch the homeless man be so invisible to those around him and the moment was very tender when one of his own stood to give him aid. I recognized my own weakness in being somewhat selective in who I offer service to. I feel sufficiently humbled by this “ah-hah” moment as well. If you want to view this social experiment you can see it here. The Little Things

I have realized that we are ALL beggars in some way. We are all in need of something. At the very least we will one day find ourselves begging for mercy at the feet of the Savior as we ask him to make up for our shortcomings and what we have failed to do in this life.  I am more committed now to look around me and recognize “the least of these” and withhold judgment rather than compassion when someone around me is in need.  I am refocusing my priorities and instead of looking for the things that I lack in my life, I am now focusing on the things that I have been given and “because I have been give much, I too must give!”