Christmas is coming

You know, as Christmas looms nearer, I'm actually surprised at how much I don't want for Christmas this year. I have been asked by a few friends what I wanted, and I haven't been able to give them a good answer. Anyone who knows me well, knows that a book is always a safe bet, but I really don't care if I don't get anything from anyone except my parents this year. (My parents are giving me a very special present that I've waited a year to get) A guy mentioned in his talk about how, when you're on your mission, you don't really want anything for Christmas. While I never had a Christmas out in the field, it did remind me of my birthday out there. My companion asked me what I wanted for my birthday and honestly, the only thing I wanted was a new investigator. I can't remember who we were meeting with at the time, but I wanted them to progress, to find the truth. I do remember that we did, indeed, get a new investigator that day. And I had the most amazing dinner. This was at the time I thought I had Celiac (which, by the way, I do not), and there was a family in the Hershey ward that had two sons on gluten free diets. They made a most wonderful dinner and every single thing on the table was gluten free. They even made me a cake. But the part I remember the most is that I made myself a cake the night before and realized that I hadn't bought anything to make icing with when we had gone shopping the previous preparation day. Well, of course, we didn't have time to make a stop at the store in the middle of the week, so it looked as though I was doomed to have no icing. But I told Sister Bastian that if it was okay with Heavenly Father for me to have icing for my birthday cake, He would somehow provide some. She laughed and we went through the day. After dinner, Sister Hopkins asked us if we wanted to take some icing home, since she had somehow made twice as much as she had needed. Sister Bastian and I looked at each other, our eyes slightly wide. When questioned, Sister Bastian explained what I had said earlier that day. That was my biggest birthday present. A firmer testimony that Heavenly Father knows each one of us and nothing is to small for him to care about. I would have been fine without that icing. But I wanted some. And a loving Father, who saw no ill effects of me getting icing for my birthday, provided it for me. That's what I want for Christmas. A stronger testimony and the knowledge that others are getting what they want. That, this Christmas, would mean more to me than a hundred presents wrapped beneath the tree.