Digital Only: Young Adults
Finding the Joy of Christmas as We Grow Up
Why does Christmas joy seem to fade over time?
Have you ever felt like the wonder of Christmastime has faded over the years? Like Christmas used to be exciting when you were younger but has since lost its luster?
This is how I felt for a long time. When I was younger, I loved everything about Christmas, from wearing silly leggings and ugly sweaters to celebrating the birth of the Savior and sharing my testimony in every hymn I sang in church.
As I got older, though, Christmastime lost some of its inherent joy for me. I found myself having to put more and more effort into choosing to be joyful during that time of the year.
I used to wonder why, if I was worshipping the Savior and celebrating His birth, I had to try so hard to experience the joy that used to come so naturally to me. I asked myself: Have I ever celebrated Christmas for the right reasons, or has my joy always been tied to worldly things?
Then one year, as I awaited another Christmas, I strengthened my relationship with Christ, and it completely changed my perspective.
A Christmas Tender Mercy
As Christmas approached, I was invited to ask Heavenly Father how He felt about me, with a promise that He would respond with love.
Well, I had never struggled to believe that Heavenly Father loved me. But I did struggle to believe that Jesus Christ loved me; I worried that after all He had sacrificed for me, I wasn’t good enough to deserve His love.
I decided to ask Heavenly Father to tell me how Jesus felt about me instead. Though I thought I already knew the answer, I wanted to believe I was loved in spite of my flaws.
I received my answer on Christmas Eve.
My mom and I went to a neighbor’s house to deliver cookies. These neighbors always make us feel welcomed, loved, and listened to. They are the kind of people who make everyone around them feel important, seen, and loved.
As I spent time with them, it hit me: these people are Christlike.
While on the earth, Jesus Christ treated everyone around him like they were everything to Him. Because He loves each of us perfectly.
In that moment, I realized that of course Jesus Christ loved me. He was willing to sacrifice so much because He saw me and everyone else as worth living, suffering, dying, and being resurrected for.
The Living Christ
As I’ve learned more about Jesus Christ and His character, nature, love, and ability to strengthen my weaknesses and help me learn from my imperfections, I’ve realized that Christmas is a time to celebrate not only the infant Jesus who came to live on earth but also the adult Christ who “suffer[ed] pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; …”
“And … [took] upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people” (Alma 7:11–12).
As much joy as there is in celebrating the birth of Christ, perhaps the greater joy of the holiday—and the joy we can have all year long—is found in celebrating the resurrected Christ.
As President Russell M. Nelson has taught: “When the focus of our lives is on … Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him.”1
Knowing that Jesus Christ truly does love me changed the way I celebrate Christmas. I know now that the joy of Christmastime comes from not just His birth but the joy and gratitude I feel for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who atoned for my sins. It is in Him that I will be able to find the best and most lasting joy.
I still love everything about Christmas, like my sillier traditions and wrapping presents. But that’s not where I look for joy anymore. Now I sing songs about Jesus and turn to the living Christ and find joy as I celebrate Him.
I still have to choose to have joy at Christmastime, and sometimes I still struggle. But I know Jesus Christ is there and that He loves me. I know He did so much more than just come to earth and experience mortality.
Jesus atoned for my sins, died, and was resurrected so I can be forgiven and be resurrected too. Because of Jesus Christ, I can be clean and happy. Because of Jesus Christ, I know I am loved.
And this is the Jesus I choose to celebrate at Christmas. This is the Jesus that brings me love, comfort, and true Christmas joy.