A Two Minute Miracle

Sacrament meeting today was so beautiful.  The power of the Holy Ghost was so strong as person after person got up to share their testimony of the Savior and the power of the gospel in their lives.  I wanted to get up, too, and would have (even though I have done something in Sacrament meeting for the last 4 weeks, whether it be speaking or playing special musical numbers), but there was no time.  There was always a line of people waiting to share their thoughts today.

My friend, Cherryl, was one of the people who got up, and one comment she made was that she loves how Thanksgiving comes before Christmas. She said that she feels like Thanksgiving softens everyone's hearts because they're thinking about all their blessings and it prepares us to celebrate Christmas as we have more opportunities to think about and be grateful for the Savior at this time of year.

My mom and dad came to my house in the middle of their work day on Friday.  They had to drop something off and decided to spend a little time with the boys.  My dad is a little bit of a sap and he always asks me to play the piano for him.  So I played him a piano solo of "Lully, Lullay", because it was the song he requested--a Christmas tradition and family favorite.  After the song was over, I told them a little bit about the history of the song.  It's an English carol that was written in the 1500's, and later was put into a Christmas pageant.  The piece has a melancholy sound, and some beautiful chords.  I told them it has a sad sound to it, because it was written about time when King Herod ordered all the little boys ages 2 and younger to be killed because he was selfish and afraid of the prophecies that a New King would rise.

Here are the lyrics ('by, by, lully, lullay" is like saying lullaby as you sing your child to sleep):

Lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child.
By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters, too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day;
This poor Youngling for whom we sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

Herod the King, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day;
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young, to slay.

Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For Thy parting, nor say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

All it took was a couple minutes.  But we all felt the Spirit and sat crying in my kitchen.  It was the Spirit of the season.  It was the emotions you feel when you think about the sacrifices that people were forced to make simply because the Son of God came to earth.  I think about how much I love my little boys, and then think about my little Emmett, and this baby boy on his way.  If we lived in Jerusalem in that day, these children are at the age that would have been taken from me for the selfish and heartless reasons of a wicked ruler.  My dad says that none of us really know the meaning of sacrifice, and I agree with him.  We live in a totally different day and age, when so many things come to us so easily and immediately.  I had never really thought of the sacrifices people had to make because the Savior of the World was born, but it was important that we took a couple minutes on Friday to think about at least one piece of this beautiful season.

I've heard moments like that referred to as a "Two Minute Miracle".  How many more 2 minute miracles will we be able to have this Christmas season with our friends and family?  It all depends on us, and our willingness to stop in the middle of the hustle and bustle and think about the reason for the season. 

My dad said that was a moment he had been waiting for, because he's been so busy he hasn't been about to stop and think and feel what Christmas is about.  At first I thought, "It's only Dec. 2nd, surely you'll have time before Christmas to feel the Spirit in your life."  But then I realized, that a busy & crazy life doesn't stop--especially before Christmas.  It's going to be up to us to actually stop think about the symbols all around us that point to Christ, and to take our celebration to a more insightful level.  It really is possible to miss the spirit of the season by getting lost in the crazy schedule of decorating and getting stuff done for the holidays.  I'm really glad my dad stopped by on Friday and asked me to play him a song--it's brought more meaning to me as I've thought about Christmas these last few days.