Christmas Note

December 25, 2021

Merry Christmas!

It feels surreal to think that we are living through memories that we will never forget. I've had this feeling often throughout my mission, but it is especially poignant during moments like these. If there is any earthly setting that I would describe as heavenly, in addition to the obvious answer of the temple, I would say that sitting around the living room as a family listening to Christmas music and opening presents together is at the top of the list. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful memories that Christmas time brings, and I can't wait to continue making new ones in the years to come! 

As a child I don't think I ever considered just how much extra stress and work Christmas brings as a parent. I was at peace with the knowledge that Santa would take care of everything, and it wasn't until recently that I realized just how much work Mom and Dad have to put into helping Santa prepare for the big day. I can never thank you enough for the amount of love and effort you have sacrificed for for each of us. Because of you, Christmas will always be a time of wonder and joy, filled with beloved traditions such as beautiful decorations, drive through Christmas lights, painting ornaments, attending the Christmas Carol and the Nutcracker, watching Christmas movies from Elf, to Home Alone, to It's a Wonderful Life, and, of course, Mr Kruger's Christmas, and listening to assorted Christmas music from Roger Whitaker, to Nat King Cole, to the Carpenters, to Michael Buble, and even Mariah Carie, going bowling on Christmas Eve, and finally spending time at each grandparent's house - as I examine this list I can't help but notice the common thread for each of these traditions is ultimately spending time together as a family.  

As unique as our circumstances are this year, I wouldn't change a thing about them. I am grateful to be among the microscoptic percentage of our Heavenly Father's children that have the priviledge of serving as a missionary for the one true and living church, and I am even more grateful as I refelct on the fact that been blessed to be born into the single greatest family in existance. 

I am so proud of our incredible heritage of love and faith, and I am still searching for the answer to how I was blessed with such incredible parents and siblings. As I grow older the list of remarkable attributes and virtues possesed by each of the uniquely wonderful members of our family continues to grow longer. I know that none of us are perfect, but I am so grateful for the way that the principles and ordinances of the Gospel and the covenants we have each made with our perfect Father and His Beloved Son make it possible for us to continue growing and progressing together in love until the perfect day that we will be united forever as a family in the Celestial Kingdom. 

The hope of being together with you all for eternity is really the true significance of Christmas for me, and I know that this is a sentiment that you all share as well. The story of the nativty and the humble circumstances of our Savior's birth are yet another step in the incredible Plan of Happiness that He has prepared for each of us.

Things this morning have been fairly quiet. President and Sister Harkness gave us an extra hour of sleep, and Elder Felix's family has the tradition of reading the book "Forgotten Carols" so we finished reading the last half of it together this morning. It has been my experience that highly anticipated events, such as Christmas as a missionary, are often more mundain that we had anticipated, but my mission has continually been teaching me the importance of these seemingly small and perhaps even monotonous moments of stillness. Heavenly Father has given us the wonderful blessing as part of our mortal experience to experience these quiet in-between moments, and I'm try to get better at appreciating them. There are a nearly infinite number of simple beauties in this life that can be easily overlooked. 

Well, it seems like you all are awake now so I can't wait to talk to you! I love each of you so much! I wish I had more words to express that love, but I'll have to settle for saying: Merry Christmas!!!