Christmas Already?

I cannot believe Christmas is two days away! It seems to come earlier and earlier each year. This year I have not done my Christmas shopping or sent cards or e-mails to people. I haven't even done my Christmas baking! That's the big thing that I do every year. I love to bake around the holidays and this year it just hasn't happened. Maybe it's because I am not with my family this Christmas and Mom and I take a day to bake tons of delicious goodies or maybe it's because I am so busy with basketball and doing the whole athletics director thing or could it be that it's six days away from the wedding and there is still so much that needs to be done. It is really a mixture of all of the above. I just realized, I haven't decorated my apartment with my nativities, which is my second favorite thing to do after baking. I love decorating with the Nativities because it always reminds me of what Christmas is all about. It's not about the traffics at the malls, the stores that are full to overflowing, the sales, the food or the pretentious people you run into all the time. Christmas is all about Christ (hence the term CHRISTmas = More Christ). This is the one time a year when people start thinking about others instead of themselves, well, sometimes. Why can't we have this attitude all the time? It's not that hard to do. This season is all about Christ. He was born to help every single one of us. It was His mission to come to earth, die, and be resurrected so we all could have that chance to once again live with our Heavenly Father. Without Him this life would not work out. We would not have the joy and happiness the gospel brings. We would not have anything to believe in. We would not have faith. I think back to the people who were on the earth before Christ came. They were always told a Savior would come. They were told exactly the circumstances of His birth and what he would endure. Many people looked forward with faith, always believing that one day He would come. Others lost hope and faith. It is with admiration that I look to those who stayed faithful. I don't know if I could have been as faithful as they. All these people had were prophecies. All they had were words in a book or words from someones mouth. They played the waiting game. But, they had faith in Him. They had faith that Christ would come and reign on the earth. Now, 2000 years later, we know that Christ came and what he did. We have the proof in ancient texts and writings. We know he was here on the earth. We don't have to have faith that he will be born and do all that he was suppose to do, He's already done it. I sometimes think that we have it easier today than what our ancestors did over 2,000 years ago because we have the proof. All we need is the faith to believe Him when he tells us to look to Him and follow his teachings. Christ is our Savior. He is the reason we can know joy and live with our Heavenly Father again someday. I love the Christmas season. It is wonderful! Please remember what this time of year is really about. Let's also keep this "christmas spirit" alive throughout the year. We could all use it.