Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Lloyd Newell each Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square broadcast. This will be given Dec. 4, 2022.
As Christmastime approached, a young boy carefully counts a handful of coins and bills. This is money he has earned by doing odd jobs around the house and around the neighborhood. It is also his Christmas-giving fund. As much as he enjoys receiving gifts for Christmas, he loves giving them even more. His fund isn’t particularly large, but his heart is. And soon he will take that money and roam through a store looking for the perfect gift for each person on his list. In some cases, he’ll find that nothing in the store is quite right, so he will handmake a gift that properly represents the love in his heart.
What makes a young boy do all of this? He would simply say that his heart was full of Christmas.
A heart full of Christmas is a heart full of love and joy. Even small gifts given with love bring joy — to both the receiver and the giver.
A heart full of Christmas is a heart full of hope. Every birth of a new baby brings new hope, but the birth of the baby Jesus brought hope on an infinite scale — hope for the whole world, in this life and eternally.
A heart full of Christmas is a heart full of the spirit of giving. On that first Christmas, Mary gave her baby the gift of life. Soon, the Wise Men gave gifts of adoration. And Jesus Himself came into the world to give us the gift of peace. He said, “My peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (see John 14:27). Through the gift of His grace, we can overcome the fears that so often rob us of peace.
Unfortunately, one of those thieves of peace can be the stress of shopping for Christmas gifts — including worries about what we can and can’t afford. But we can all afford to observe a Christmas season that truly comes from the heart. With a heart full of Christmas, the joy of the season will go on long after we turn off the holiday lights and put away the decorations. A heart full of Christmas brings the lasting, peaceful feelings of love, joy, hope and the spirit of giving, even the Spirit of Christ.
Tuning in …
The “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast is available on KSL-TV, KSL Radio 1160AM/102.7FM, KSL.com, BYUtv, BYUradio, Dish and DirectTV, SiriusXM Radio (Ch. 143), the tabernaclechoir.org, youtube.com/TheTabernacleChoir and Amazon Alexa (must enable skill). The program is aired live on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on many of these outlets. Look up broadcast information by state and city at musicandthespokenword.com/viewers-listeners/airing-schedules.
