Since we came to China we have been entranced by the beautiful Chinese children and the riveting attention we see paid them by parents and grandparents alike. No sacrifice is too great to allow that child every opportunity money and time can buy. In this vast country with its burgeoning 1.3 billion population (and its strictly enforced, one-child policy--at least in the cities), we see young people who paradoxically long for a sister or a brother, while also fearing to share their parents love with any other child. But certainly these children are treasured as the embodiment of their hopes and dreams for the future. We just enjoy seeing them and their parents as we come and go.
It seems amazing to us that December is here already and Christmas is just around the corner. We love celebrating the season, wherever we are, but I have been surprised in large supermarkets like Walmart and Vanguard to find myself surrounded with tacky Christmas decor and clerks with Santa hats on while Christmas songs blare. I don't really like it much and can't quite explain why, except that it doesn't some how feel just right.
It is as commercialized as any American effort in order to make every day count at the register. I didn't care for that in the USA. I like it even less in China where any effort to celebrate our holiday is just on the surface--just for profit--with nothing under that surface. No understanding of the real Reason for the Season. And the worst part of it is that I can't tell anyone what is wrong with that picture.
That said, we are so glad that we do know what is beneath all the tinsel and the holiday cheer and are so grateful that the Savior was born into this world and that He was not only was born but also lived His sin-free life of love and service and died that each one of us--even the 1.3 billion Chinese who don't know of Him--might live again.
A Bright,
Shining Star
“There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ.”
—President Thomas S. Monson
That picture of Mary and the Baby Jesus is one of my FAVORITES! It hung in my son's room until just recently when we blended our family and the boys now have to share! Each of them has their own wall they are trying to make their own...sadly that picture lost out to a racecar driver, so I placed it in a box with the others that he doesn't want up anymore...hoping one day to use them again if the Lord sees fit to bless us with more children. Thank you for the lovely reminder of the REAL reason for the season!
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