Tonight I had the pleasure of putting together a Christmas Party for the YW in my ward.
HOW I LOVE these little ladies!
We started off our evening with their angelic voices singing the sweetest of Christmas Hymns.
I then posed this question:
"What makes Christmas Magical for you?"
The responses were wonderful, so tender and genuine...my cup is overflowing!
As I listened to them,
I could not help but reflect on
my first realization of the beauty of this season and the reason for it...
I had always loved Christmas prior to this moment in my life...
I hadn't known what I'd been missing all those years...
I didn't know or understand
The Magic nor did I know to be searching for
more.
Looking back I can scarcely recall what I loved about this season...
possibly the hype and the excitement...
but it now holds a deeper, truer, intense understanding and love for me...
I find myself yearning for the music, the images, the magic, the beauty of this season.
I love to spend time reflecting on the life of my Savior and the love, innocence, and faith of his mother, Mary.
I feel so drawn to her.
I often wonder what it is about her that attracts my attention and makes me wish to be just as she was. She and I share the same sacred role of motherhood and as I think of her, my heart breaks...
I know the love she felt for Him, because I have felt that same love for each of my own children...
I cannot imagine the blessings or the struggles Mary faced as the mother of the Christ Child.
She was truly called of God to bring Him to earth, to love Him and raise Him to be all that He was meant to be; I believe she was prepared for the trials she would endure as she watched Him suffer for all.
Her faith is a source of strength and wonder to me!
How I wish to emulate her ...
Moving on with our wonderful evening...
Each girl brought a little wrapped gift
that was placed in the center of the room.
We had a blast, laughing and giggling, as I read aloud a story which caused us to pass the gifts from the left to the right and the right to the left and back and forth and all over the place...
STORY at the end of this post...if you want to have some great laughs with a small or large crowd ~ YOU must do this...way FUN!!!
After our little "game", the girls loaded up plates of goodies while I gathered letters that had been written for each of them. This night was to
focus on the INDIVIDUAL GIFTS of each of these special young ladies! My goal was for them to have something to turn to in moments of doubt or sorrow ~ letters to remind them of their worth, of the beautiful gifts and talents they each possess, of the love others have for them. Each girl received a letter from another girl in the room, a letter from her parent, and a letter from her YW leader. (This also counted toward her Personal Progress for Individual Worth)
As the girls enjoyed their goodies, I walked around delivering each letter to the girls. They began reading them and as I watched, there were girls laughing, then crying, then just smiling sweetly. PERFECT!!! Mission accomplished ~ Yippee!!!
My wish is that they will keep these and go to them during low times in their life...I know that during times that I struggle I find strength and the courage to keep pushing forward from the belief others have in me.
I will end this with the gratitude I have in my heart for Magical Moments...
Tonight truly was another to add to my list.
I know that we are put in certain places at certain times for certain reasons and I am certainly pleased that I have been placed here to work with these special girls ~ What a blessing they each are in my life!
HERE'S THE STORY ~ SOOOOOOO MUCH FUN!!!
A CHRISTMAS EVE TO REMEMBER
It was a beautiful Christmas Eve. The snow was falling. Everything seemed just RIGHT for the evening. There was enough hot chocolate LEFT to share with Santa, RIGHT there along with the plate of cookies Mrs. Wright had LEFT by the fireplace.
Everything was so perfect, that Mr. and Mrs. WRIGHT decided it would be a great time to drive across town and deliver Grandmother WRIGHT’S Christmas gift. Grandmother WRIGHT had not LEFT her home for a week. She was down in bed, as a bout of flu had LEFT her RIGHT weak.
Mr. WRIGHT and Mrs. WRIGHT LEFT RIGHT away in their bright red car. They had just turned LEFT out of the driveway when Mrs. WRIGHT said to Mr. WRIGHT , “Oh my goodness! I LEFT Grandmother’s present RIGHT there on the kitchen counter.”
Mr.WRIGHT quickly turned RIGHT back into the driveway so fast that Mrs. WRIGHT was forced to lean LEFT as he did so. No harm done, though, and she hopped RIGHT out of the car and LEFT her door open. Heading quickly into the house, Mrs. WRIGHT said over her shoulder to Mr. WRIGHT, “I’ll be RIGHT back.”
Their dog, Snowball, who loved taking rides with Mr. WRIGHT in the car, saw the door open and ran and jumped RIGHT into the car, RIGHT over the front seat, and RIGHT into the back seat.About this time, Mrs. WRIGHT showed up with Grandmother’s present and said to Mr. WRIGHT, “It was RIGHT where I LEFT it! In the kitchen.”
Mrs. WRIGHT was surprised to see Snowball in the car. Mrs. WRIGHT thought they had LEFT him in the backyard. However, Mr. WRIGHT had forgotten and LEFT the gate unlocked. Mr. and Mrs. WRIGHT LEFT Snowball in the back seat of the car as they once again LEFT their driveway for Grandmother WRIGHT’S home.
As Mr. and Mrs. WRIGHT drove along enjoying the beautiful scenery they felt as if they had LEFT all their worries somewhere else. It was Christmas Eve and they were surrounded, on both the RIGHT and LEFT with new falling snow. They were filled with that wonderful feeling that often comes at Christmas time.
Pretty soon Mr. WRIGHT’S car turned RIGHT onto Holly Street where Grandmother WRIGHT lived. As they approached grandmother WRIGHT’S, they could see she had LEFT her porch light on as if she had been expecting them. It felt RIGHT chilly when they stepped out of the car. However, they LEFT their jackets in the car as they thought they would be RIGHT back.
They could see Grandmother WRIGHT peeking through the curtains as they walked up her steps. Mr. WRIGHT and Mrs. WRIGHT were so relieved they had not LEFT grandmother WRIGHT’S gift at home. Snowball began to bark as he did not like being LEFT out of family outings.
Mr. WRIGHT and Mrs. WRIGHT walked RIGHT up to the door and knocked. Snowball, who did not want to be LEFT alone in the car was RIGHT behind them. Grandmother WRIGHT must have been standing RIGHT by the door because she opened it RIGHT after they knocked. It LEFT them almost speechless to see Grandmother WRIGHT up and about.
Grandmother WRIGHT said, “What a wonderful surprise!” What she didn’t tell them was how she had been feeling RIGHT sorry for herself all day, thinking that she had been LEFT out of all the holiday celebrations because she’d been ill.
Mr. WRIGHT and Mrs. WRIGHT were surprised too, and RIGHT happy at the same time to see that Grandmother WRIGHT had finally LEFT her bed. It was easy to see that her illness had not LEFT her weak, as she seemed RIGHT spry, too.
What a nice surprise for Grandmother WRIGHT. She had not been LEFT alone on Christmas Eve after all. Grandmother WRIGHT was so happy she wanted to celebrate what was LEFT of Christmas Eve. So Grandmother WRIGHT LEFT Mr. WRIGHT and Mrs. WRIGHT and went RIGHT into the kitchen to stir up a pot of hot wassail.
She said, “I need my glasses to see this festive recipe, and I don’t RIGHTly remember where I LEFT them.” So the three of them LEFT the kitchen and looked all around to see where she might have LEFT them.Grandmother WRIGHT soon yelled out from her bedroom, “Well, here they are, RIGHT here where I LEFT them!” Sure enough, they had been RIGHT there on her night stand where she had LEFT them.
While Grandmother WRIGHT checked to make sure she had all the RIGHT ingredients for the hot wassail, Mr. WRIGHT built a fire in the fireplace. It LEFT all of them with a warm festive feeling as they sat on the cozy stuffed sofa, listening to soft Christmas music and sipping their wassail, which Grandma WRIGHT served at just the RIGHT temperature.
Then Mr. WRIGHT LEFT for a minute to check on Snowball. He was fast asleep, RIGHT there on the doorstep where they had LEFT him. Mr. WRIGHT and Mrs. WRIGHT will never forget this special evening as they were LEFT with the true spirit of Christmas in their hearts. They knew they had done the RIGHT thing, by sharing their Christmas Eve with Grandmother WRIGHT.
