I love Christmas. It is my favorite. I was raised in a home where Christmas is tantamount to all other holidays. I can't say exactly when the "no Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving" rule was officially forsaken but it seems like every year the halls of my home have been decked out earlier and earlier. This year I'm celebrating Christmas in a very different way while spending a lot of my time serving at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors Center.
Serving at the Washington D.C. Temple visitors center during the Christmas festival of lights has been incredible. Thousands of people come and visit, many of them are drawn there simply because they want to see the beautiful lights. They generally come expecting to see something pleasant, maybe take a few photos and leave feeling good about having done something festive this season. But my deepest hope is that they leave with more than that. I hope that they leave feeling closer to the Savior and having experienced feeling more of His light. He truly is the Light of the world. As we increase our faith in Him, His light fills our lives leaving no more room for negative thoughts, angry feelings, or bitter resentments. It's that light that truly brings the "Christmas Spirit" that people are always talking about and looking for.
Throughout the past few weeks I have met people from all over the world, from all different beliefs and backgrounds, but whether they believed in Jesus Christ or not, as they felt His Spirit and the joy of the season I could see their light as they showed a little kindness to the person behind them in line or as we talked about how much they loved their families.
The light of Christ isn't meant to bless our lives just at Christmastime, but all throughout the year! May we all make a conscious effort to be more Christlike each day and share that light with those around us!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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