The Perfect Christmas

   There is a commercial on television that begins with "If you think that finding the perfect gift for your.....",  and I always interrupt that thought with, "then you are fried, or whatever word fits this preposterous idea. The perfect gift, hah! 

President Dieter Uchtdorf-

  "Sometimes it seems that our efforts to have a perfect Christmas season are like a game of Jenga ... each of those little wooden blocks is a symbol of the perfect Christmas we so desperately want to have. We have in our minds a picture of how everything should be; the perfect tree, the perfect lights, the perfect gifts and the perfect family party. We might even want to re-create some magical moment we remember from Christmases past, and nothing short of perfection will do.

"Sooner or later, something unpleasant occurs; the wooden blocks tumble, the drapes catch fire, the turkey burns, the sweater is the wrong size, the toys are missing batteries, the children quarrel, the pressure rises; and the picture-perfect Christmas we had imagined, the magic we had intended to create, shatters around us. As a result, the Christmas season is often a time of stress, anxiety, frustration and perhaps even disappointment."

"When we set aside our expectations of perfection, we will see Christmas in details around us. It is usually something small; we read a verse of scripture, we hear a sacred carol and really listen, perhaps for the first time, to its words, or we witness a sincere expression of love. In one way or another, the Spirit touches our hearts, and we see that Christmas, in its essence, is much more sturdy and enduring than the many minor things we often use to adorn it."
   Christmas is sturdy in my mind when I do not futurize but stay with the grace of the moment. I like to ask myself, 'What is wonderful about this moment, now?" I have never been left without an answer when I ask that question. What is wonderful right now? It is quiet, I don't have any lessons to teach today, I feel pretty good, and I am going to the temple. One little unpleasantness; there is a mouse in my wall. He is making mw aware that I am never alone.