Quiet Christmastime

I have been trying to figure out how to bring Christ into our family's Christmas activities more. My husband really doesn't seem concerned about anything, he just basically shows up, so everything having to do with Christmas gets left up to me. All the decorating, shopping, cooking, planning, etc.

I have been thinking a lot about the night of the birth of Christ. I have heard many things over the past few weeks that make me think what a quiet evening that would have been. Sure, there were angels singing, but that was only to one group of shepherds. It seems to me that it was just Mary and Joseph, not just staring at their babe lying in his manger, but doing what normal parents do, holding him and kissing him and cooing to him and enjoying the new life. Who was there to witness his early days except a handful of animals, some shepherds, and a few random others. It amazes me that the great Lord of Lords made such a quiet entrance into the world.

But his birth seems so relevant now. Doesn't he make the same quiet entrance into our hearts? The times when I am the quietest are the times when I can feel the Spirit most strongly and feel most close to the Savior. I don't find many of those quiet times lately, with two young children and a job and a husband who is sometimes more like another child than anything! But I am always grateful for those times when they come. I did not have the chance to worship him face to face at his birth, in those quiet first moments, but I have the opportunity to worship him quietly in my heart whenever I want. I am glad that we can celebrate Christmas to remind us of these things.

Michel