Today we will be having a Christmas program. it will proceed as
follows
1. Christmas poem written especially for
you by Hermana Thomas
2. Christmas poem written especially not for
you because it is in Spanish and will accompany the cookies we're dropping
off to people. Basically only included because I'm super proud that I
wrote a poem in Spanish. By Hermana Thomas
3. Words of wisdom by Hermana Wong. "Food
doesn't taste as good when you don't have anyone to share it with"
3. Christmas message from Hermana Thomas
1.
Missionary
Christmas
my very first Christmas
with no hint of snow
it's fifty degrees
'stead of fifteen below
I haven't once listened
to jingle bell rock
save the horse and the sleigh
cuz we park and we walk
the extent of our gifts
are the pamphlets we bring
and the jingle of bells
are the doorbells we ring
the only rain, dear,
comes from clouds in the sky
and santa this year
will be passing us by.
there's no wrapping, no snowmen
no lit temple square
the walls where we live
remain pitifully bare
the house smells like house
and not fresh mountain pine
no décor (we're too poor)
no hung socks in a line
some may ask if I'm missing
my family at home
when I see a lit tree
if my heart starts to roam
back to presents and parties
and decking the hall
but I'm telling the truth
when I say "not at all"
for I can't miss the things
that are counted and priced
when I spend all my time
sharing teachings of Christ
and that very first Christmas
there was no hint of snow
on a calm April night
with the sky all aglow
and because of the birth
of that sweet baby boy
on a mission I bring
the glad tidings of Joy
Luke 2:10 :and the angel said unto them, fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.
with no hint of snow
it's fifty degrees
'stead of fifteen below
I haven't once listened
to jingle bell rock
save the horse and the sleigh
cuz we park and we walk
the extent of our gifts
are the pamphlets we bring
and the jingle of bells
are the doorbells we ring
the only rain, dear,
comes from clouds in the sky
and santa this year
will be passing us by.
there's no wrapping, no snowmen
no lit temple square
the walls where we live
remain pitifully bare
the house smells like house
and not fresh mountain pine
no décor (we're too poor)
no hung socks in a line
some may ask if I'm missing
my family at home
when I see a lit tree
if my heart starts to roam
back to presents and parties
and decking the hall
but I'm telling the truth
when I say "not at all"
for I can't miss the things
that are counted and priced
when I spend all my time
sharing teachings of Christ
and that very first Christmas
there was no hint of snow
on a calm April night
with the sky all aglow
and because of the birth
of that sweet baby boy
on a mission I bring
the glad tidings of Joy
Luke 2:10 :and the angel said unto them, fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.
2. Words of wisdom by Hermana Wong: "food
doesn't taste as good when you don't have anyone to share it with"
......i.e. Hermana Thomas is having a hard time sharing Christmas treats.
3. Message Yesterday,
I was asked (with a whole 3 hours notice) to give a Christmas talk at a young
Single Adults fireside. As already mentioned in the above poem, Christmases as
a missionary are quite a bit different from those of the average Christmas
celebrator. It got me thinking about "the true meaning of Christmas."
O.k. before you roll your eyes and shut off
the computer, keep reading. The answer is different than you might think.
Old and young year after year have
tried to tackle "the true meaning of Christmas." I think we can all
agree (as songs and movies and books are constantly reinforce into our
heads) that it is NOT about presents or candy or money or big red bows.
But what IS it about? Some songs and movies claim that Christmas is all
about "the joy of giving" or "keeping love in your heart
all year round."
False.
While I agree that these are important
themes, they completely miss the point of Christmas. They seem to miss the
first syllable, which is "Christ."
Other media (mainly church produced
productions from congregations around the world,) emphasize the birth of Christ
as the true meaning of Christmas. Surprisingly I also disagree that this is
what we truly celebrate during this Christmas season.
While His birth was miraculous, accompanied by
such grandeur as the world had never known, it is not this that we should focus
on during this special time. What we are really celebrating is His life,
and more specifically, His atonement. Without this, without His Atonement,
what joy could his birth bring us?
Instead of focusing on the fact that He was
born, we should pause and remember WHY He came into this world, and what He did
for us that was so miraculous. In John 14: 6 it says
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me."
There was LITERALLY no other way for us to be saved,
which is to be able to live in the presence of God again, except that Jesus
fulfilled the atonement. Without it, we would be doomed to live forever in a
condition that one prophet described thus
"the demands of divine justice do awaken
his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt; which doth cause him to
shrink from the presence of the Lord and doth fill his breast with guilt and
pain and anguish which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up
forever and ever" Mosiah 2:38
And not only did he save us from this
miserable fate, he took upon him our infirmities and sicknesses and heartaches
and trials to know exactly how to comfort us while here on earth. (Alma 7:12)
So this Christmas season, I invite you to focus on WHY Christ came to earth,
and give thanks for the greatest gift ever given. The Atonement.
-Hermana Thomas
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