Maxine's Story
What Christmas Means to Me
What should be a rather easy assignment (to write about a spiritual Christmas experience), has in fact been a struggle. After all I've had enough Christmas experiences to draw from. Eighty four to be exact!
As a child born at the beginning of the great depression, I experienced poverty and frugal living throughout all my growing years, and also in early marriage. Those were not "Hallmark" Christmas years and the fact that there was no church in our lives, surely certified the situation...
After my family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1956, we began to view life from a very different perspective. Christmas had new meaning and we grew in Spiritual understanding, and also in social skills. Christmas became a bit event! Suddenly I had lots of friends who had many many talents, and they were eager to share! Crafts of all kinds, candies (chocolate dipping), holiday breads and cookies, decorations and parties and shopping and on and on.....Cards to write, shopping to do.....It was all so wonderful!
Then came the bad years. The fatigue, the health problems, more and more customs to keep........."spiritual" was often pushed aside. Yet I knew it then and I recognize it now.......there came a time in all this hyper activity when the Spirit of Christmas touched my heart, and I knew with certainty what we were attempting to do in our poor way, to honor the birth of our Savior. Simply that! And this truth became clear to me and does to this day through the medium of music! It might be the Tabernacle Choir-----or the Ward Choir. It may be David Archuleta------or Gary Waite. It could be the Singing Christmas Tree-----or friends gathered around a piano-----the music in Sacrament meeting, or in Relief Society. The familiar words and the melodies from the ages.....
Hallelujah----Hallelujah---Hallelujah! Christ is born! He lives---He lives our Lord and King! And I am filled with the sweet peace that is the true Spirit of Christmas. Nothing else really matters----with loved ones around me, blessed beyond measure, it is enough!
Maxine Hansen
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