Christmas Spirit

A friend gave an incredibly powerful talk in church on Sunday. She spoke about the spirit of Christmas. She talked about how on her mission she struggled to help people feel the Spirit, and realized recently that all she needed to tell them was that the Spirit is the same as the spirit of Christmas. She gave such a powerful testimony, my bones practically rang with it. The spirit of Christmas touches you in the oddest places. . .

This morning at the gym, I was on my usual machine, and I was trying to finish a book I had been reading. (I don't usually read while working out because I do cardio in intervals and watch the clock to do them. The book is a Steven King novel that I've discovered I CAN'T read at night, so I took it to the gym with me this morning.) The pages kept flipping around, and it was a bit of a struggle. Suddenly, a lady that I had never seen before, came up and put a hair clip on my book, pinching the pages down, so I could easily read. She simply explained, "I like to read too. You can just give it back when you're done." and she pointed over to the weight area. I was just starting my hour tho, so I figured, I'd give it back when she left. About a 30 minutes later, she comes back and says, "You know, between my daughter and I, we have tons of those things, you keep that one." I asked if she was sure, and, here's what did it for me, she said, "Merry Christmas," and she left. The value of what she gave me was probably nothing to her, but, to me was priceless. "Merry Christmas," not "happy holidays" or any of the other things people say to wash away the real meaning, the Spirit, of the season.

Merry Christmas!