Three years ago I spent Christmas in a 100 year old Norwegian home blanketed by four feet of snow, surrounded by 2 1/2 acres of pine trees surrounding the house - with their branches weighted down and drooping under the weight of the snow. Snow is quiet. Snow is peaceful. Sitting inside my house, with the wood stove warming, the fireplaces blazing, and the tree lit - I felt the quiet of Christmas. I felt peace and joy and thankfulness.
In Norway, everything shuts down for a few days at Christmas and churches ring their bells. It feels right, peaceful, reverent and I think how Christ would have Christmas celebrated if He had His way.
But now I am home, and their is no snow, and the TV and radio are shouting, competing with sales flyers and ads and signs on stores that say they will be open Christmas Day. I have to say it is much harder to find the quiet of Christmas.
And I know I need it. I have to find it. To fully thank the Savior for coming to the earth and atoning for my sins, I need to stop, forget about the presents I have not bought yet, or the ones that need wrapped. Forget the house, and the cleaning and the mess. Forget the gloomy outside, turn off the TV - the radio - the internet, and sit down in my nativity room and just ... be quiet.
In Norway, everything shuts down for a few days at Christmas and churches ring their bells. It feels right, peaceful, reverent and I think how Christ would have Christmas celebrated if He had His way.
But now I am home, and their is no snow, and the TV and radio are shouting, competing with sales flyers and ads and signs on stores that say they will be open Christmas Day. I have to say it is much harder to find the quiet of Christmas.
And I know I need it. I have to find it. To fully thank the Savior for coming to the earth and atoning for my sins, I need to stop, forget about the presents I have not bought yet, or the ones that need wrapped. Forget the house, and the cleaning and the mess. Forget the gloomy outside, turn off the TV - the radio - the internet, and sit down in my nativity room and just ... be quiet.
It will come, I think - that peace I felt - that led to thankfulness and a Christmas that was full of meaning, happiness, peace and joy. But I will have to work for it now, it is not going to come by just being - because things are so different now - things I cannot fix - things that are stressful and pull me in the opposite direction than the direction I should be heading.
I guess I should say I hope it will come. The time is quickly ticking by and soon, Christmas will be over. I feel the need to hurry and do something, but I don't know what that should be. It isn't a feeling of hurry and finish your gift purchases, hurry and finish delivering your gifts, hurry and get your house clean, hurry and finish those decorations you haven't put up.
I think it is: Hurry, and be still.
3 comments:
youve got the right idea! He says "be still and know that i am God."
As much as I like a small Christmas, I don't think I've added the peace yet. I need to find a way for my children to feel that Spirit.
I loved your blog entry. Every year I search for the peace, and it is getting easier to find as my kids take on their own responsibilities and it becomes someone else's task to find that perfect gift for my children. I just keep them funded!
Post a Comment