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Oh how the years go by...















It’s funny how things change with time. Take the concept of sleep on Christmas Eve, for example.

As a child, I couldn’t sleep on Christmas Eve because I was anticipating what toys I would unwrap the next morning. As a preteen, I wouldn’t sleep on Christmas Eve because I’d be talking on the phone with my friends late into the evening. As a college student, I couldn’t wait to come home from school TO sleep and recover from late nights studying for finals and hanging out with friends. Now as an adult, I can’t sleep IN because I’m used to getting up early for work!

Our circumstances, or the way we celebrate Christmas, change also. I’ve celebrated Christmas while living in different houses, some years my sister has been out of the country, and now I’m celebrating my first Christmas as a married woman. Different family members have been present are in my memories of past Christmases, but they have passed on now.

Though circumstances change and our perception of it evolves as we mature, Christmas doesn’t change. The story, the reason for celebration, is still the same – “the Word became flesh and dwelled among us” (John 1:14). The meaning of Christmas was the same for our ancestors in the 1700’s as it is for us today in 2009. Their commemorations of the holiday may have included traditions that we don’t utilize today, but the essence and the meaning behind the celebration was exactly the same for them as it is for us.

Truly our way of experiencing Christmas changes drastically with time. I’ve experienced this during my life already, and I’m sure that I will say the same thing in 20 years as I endure trials and enjoy the celebrations that are all a part of life on Earth. However, I hope that one thing will ALWAYS change on Christmas for me. I hope that each year I’m filled with a bit more awe and a bit more understanding of the significance of Christmas. I hope that each year I’m a bit more grateful for the birth of the Savior, and that my heart rejoices a bit more for what He has done. I hope that my love and passion for Jesus grow a bit stronger each Christmas, and that I am able to share that with more people every year.

Merry Christmas – may we all rejoice this year – “for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Isaiah 9:6

P.S. The photo is my sister Amy and I one Christmas Eve!

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