Lessons from Christmas

For some reason, these last couple of Christmases have been bit rough.  In 2014 I spent Christmas away from my family in Japan, in 2015 I didn’t get any presents Christmas morning, and this year I battled a week long flu-like illness that kept me bed ridden until Christmas Eve.  Christmas has always been a time to spend with my family and to live out our traditions of Christmas Eve pajamas, Christmas movies and nativity plays.

In 2014, I was serving in a small rural town of Takayama, Japan as a Latter-day Saint missionary.  It was cold and dark during that time of year with plenty of snow lining up the streets.  My companion Elder Vaughn and I rode eight hours a day on our bikes in the frigid winter weather occasionally stopping in to 7/11 to warm up.  The last month had been a bit rough as many of the people we were teaching decided to stop hearing our lessons about Christ or completely ignore us.  On top of that it was my first Christmas without my family.

Even without making gingerbread houses, watching Christmas classics or even leaving a plate of cookies for Santa it still proved to be a special day.  You woke up and something was just different, even if all the kids still went to school and all the businesses were still open.  I learned then that no matter what is going on in your life, Christmas can be a bright spot.

In 2015 I had a little bit different of an experience.  All things seemed to be going well as my second Christmas in Japan came around.  My companion and I kept finding new people interested in our message, I was in a warm city with no snow, and I had more than a year and a half of experience as a missionary.  The one snag came later when Christmas Eve came around and I still had not received my Christmas package from my parents.  On top of that I was starting to get a little bit of a cold that made my voice become pretty raspy.  I knew as I was going to bed that night that that following Christmas morning I would not have any presents to open.

I remember waking up that morning with a bit of a cold and a hoarse voice.  I curled up into a ball as I prayed and huddled under the sheets of my futon.  I turned the light on in the room and went and sat at my desk.  There was no big Christmas decorations to look at, no family to spend the day with, and no presents.  Personal study would start at 8 o’clock just like every other day and we’d be out the door working just after lunch.  I kind of slouched in my rolly chair bouncing back and forth as I stared out the window.  What made today so special if there were no lights adorning the shops outside and no presents underneath our makeshift Christmas tree?

It was then that my eyes turned to the picture of Christ hanging over me and my companion’s desks.  It finally clicked then that He Is the Gift.  That is the Christmas Spirit, that is what makes it special.  No matter where you are, who you are with or what you do, Christmas can be a special day.

So this year I thought I had finally learned my lesson that I’d be able enjoy a Western Christmas with my family without harm or distraction.  Unfortunately, a week before Christmas I came down with a bug.  Fatigue, fever, congestion, the chills, you name it and I had it.  I thought I’d get over it quickly but as the days dragged on, I couldn’t get much relief until Friday night I saw the doctor and found out I had strep throat.  Finally up and out of my bed, I was able to participate in all of our Christmas Eve activities.

We all woke up the next day like we always did as kids Christmas morning.  Presents were under the tree, the stockings were filled and the whole family from Grandma Bevans to Austin were sitting around the tree.  Something didn’t quite feel right though.  Maybe Christmas had sprung up too fast on me since I’d been sleeping the past week or maybe since I hadn’t taken a part in all the family traditions that it would never feel normal.  As we knelt in prayer before opening our presents, that is when it all seemed right.  I learned once again that even with all the holiday trappings, Christ is what brings us the greatest joy.

As I wrote in my journal my second Christmas in Japan, “I still felt the special Christmas Spirit of Christ’s love… even though the rest of Christmas was a normal [proselyting] day.  Whenever I am doing what is right and am seeking for it, I can always feel my Savior’s love.”

Even though Christmas is 363 days away, we can still feel that Spirit everyday.  It isn’t the presents, traditions or even the Christmas holiday itself that creates joy in our hearts.  It is Christ whose love we can feel and we can feel this all year long if we only seek it out in our everyday lives.