I have to admit, shamefacedly, that I was a little disgruntled by the notion of attending church at 10 AM on Christmas morning, right in the middle of our gift opening tradition. How would we tear the kids away from their presents in time to get them showered and dressed for sacrament meeting in time? In fact, with only two showers available, how would we get 21 people fed and ready at all? One thing I was fairly sure of.......It was going to be a colossal pain.
I also confess to questioning (three or four times at least and with a certain degree of annoyance) the bishopric's decision to schedule our Sabbath observance mid-morning, making my own, sure pronouncement that mid-afternoon would have been far better. What on earth had they been thinking? Sheesh.
Despite my concerns, somehow we all made it to church on time. What's more, hearing a proud dad bless his new baby (one he and his darling wife dreamed of for years and were finally able to welcome at Thanksgiving), remembering Christ by partaking of the sacrament with dear friends and family, enjoying one of the most touching programs it's ever been our pleasure to see, and rubbing shoulders with people we love dearly turned out to be the best possible prelude imaginable to the giving and receiving of gifts celebrating the birth of our Savior. What on earth had I been thinking?
The final solo, O Holy Night, was an appropriate one...for we spent a rare and holy Christmas morn.
=)
PS. Next year, I think we will precede the opening of our presents by singing Joy to the World or another stirring carol. Afterward, we will go around our family circle with each one of us offering the very first gift of the day to that newborn King whose birth we are celebrating. (This year, my gift to him should have been humility...or gratitude...because I definitely missed the mark by not welcoming the opportunity to celebrate Christmas on a Sunday.) After all, Christmas is not about logistics. It's about Love.
15 comments:
Oh the lessons we learn when we least expect them.
After years of attending Christmas Eve services I've found the beauty of the morning service - quieter but with the same joy.
When we got home after church on Sunday I felt so full of the spirit and so grateful. I wish we could always have Christmas day on Sunday!
Does take a little more planning but so worth it.
I'm ashamed to say that I shared your feelings on Christmas morning. But after 1 hour of singing carols, listening to carols being sung and played, and 1 very good talk, my attitude was nicely adjusted. It's hard to make family time on Christmas, with all of it's intricacies, mesh with church attendance but it's oh, so worth it. My favorite order of things, however, is to have Christmas EVE fall on Sunday. That always sets the tone so beautifully. Next year.
So true. I ended up being so grateful for that inconvenient Sabbath worship. It's great to feel the love.
What a sweet notion! Offering up a gift to Him. I have never thought about that, but absolutely want to begin. Church on Christmas morning is very hard. But it is so appropriate, don't you think? To be able to go and worship Him and not focus on all the gifts probably does us a great deal of good. I am glad you were able to have a change of attitude and enjoy that special meeting.
We were so grateful that we went to church on Sunday. The choir presented such a beautiful Contata Dick was so glad that he didn't stay home. He really felt he would have missed something special. The choir was SO VERY GOOD. It really did set the feeling for the day.
actually our church always takes christmas off...
ok i will wait for you to wake up from passing out...smiles...
ack...stop beating yourself up, Sue! Trust me, you weren't the only one having "second thoughts" about church on Christmas morning...and how cool about that baby. I'm so happy for M&D (assuming that's who you were talking about!).
So true...a Sunday Christmas? It was the best thing ever! Thanks for your delightful take on it!
Just looked at your last post. I see you have your own "Fab Four"! The pictures are just adorable,Sue!, I bet you had as much fun as I did!
Beautiful thoughts. They were honest and I love it.
Our youngest daughter sang "O Holy Night" at the end of our Sacrament Meeting. It melted my heart.
21 people and two bathrooms.....a Christmas miracle!
I think everyone was a bit disgruntled with Christmas services this year, but it all did work out for us too.
I actually enjoyed it very much. There was something sacred about spending a portion of my day worshiping.
It was a good day. I'm glad you had good music at your chapel.
So true!!! Makes me feel guilty for not getting to church. It was something for us though, as a family, b/c everyone was coming in the afternoon, and we needed that time alone. So much sickness going around in our church, too, so the kids would have had to come with us. But we got sick anyhow. Perhaps next time Christmas is on Sunday, we'll be sure to make it. :) I really did miss it. Sounds like your day was a fantastic one with church and all your family!! :)
How great to have a baby blessed! What a special opportunity. It is a hard balance at Christmas at times between the festivities of it all. I have found a great movie called The Nativity. We watched it on Christmas night.
Twenty-one people and 2 showers?! Yikes! That is some serious coordination and one heck of a water heater! lol We felt the same way about going to Church on Christmas Day--in fact, Arianna asked what kind of mother I am to make them go?! lol
But, I must admit, the program was wonderful--all music with a little narration--and the time flew by, n' before we knew it, we were back home enjoying the rest of the day.
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