The miracle of this day...

It sometimes gets hard to remember the whole purpose of the madness of this season. I promised myself I was going to do things differently this year so that I could sit back and enjoy everything about this holiday. I did pretty good... but definately know what I can improve on for next year. It sometimes gets frustrating to think that we are supposed to be celebrating the birth of our Savior as we rush to and fro, and spend outrageous amounts of money. WHY do we do this? I haven't figured it all out yet. But I know that next year will go even better than this year, and the year after I will do even better... I am just tired of putting everything ahead of what matters the most. It's easy to do... we are living in a world that takes away from what the Savior represents... and definately from all that he did for us. Often I can barely stand to think about it because I can't bear the thought of His suffering... for me.... and yet, on this day when we should be thinking the most of Him, His birth, His life and His death, we are madly rushing about concentrating on everything BUT Him! There are times when I think of Mary.... I couldn't imaging knowing that I was the mother of the Son of God. How she must have cherished Him... when I look at the faces of my own newborn children it takes my breath away knowing that they were so new, so fresh from heaven and I think of what she must have felt. I wonder if she felt completely inadaquete, or did she have the perfect innocent faith to believe that she was trusted enough with this great privilege that she knew she could accomplish the task given her? Did she doubt herself at times, the way I do as a mother? Did she wonder if all she did was enough? I think of the times that He has comforted me just in the past couple of years... the times He has carried burdens that felt too heavy to carry alone. He was there in my darkest hours, bringing light when I wondered if I could go on, when I felt so alone and scared. The reason we celebrate this day is nothing short of a miracle... and yet, because of the Son, we are blessed with miracles daily in our own lives. So Happy Birthday Jesus... I hope that we can remember all that was done for us everyday.... that will be my gift this year... to remember the gift of thy birth, and the gift of the atonement and to be willing to apply that gift to my life daily! Merry Christmas!