O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light.
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
Most of us receive the blessings of
heaven silently, in small moments of our lives, to lift us up when we
are down or to help us in great times of need. The Lord entered this
world in a small and silent way. He came on a quiet night to a little
stable in Bethlehem. But that quiet, little stable held the Savior of
the world, who would give us the greatest gift of all.
Christmas is a wonderful time to
remember our Savior. It is a wonderful time to reflect on the many,
many blessings of Heaven He has given us. This week, my mind has gone
back to a Christmas miracle I experienced just seven years ago.
Morning came way too early for me on
Dec. 21, 2006. My alarm clock blared at 3:30 a.m. I hit the snooze
button several times over until the last possible minute. I dragged
myself out of bed, got dressed, grabbed a few things, and set off to
pick up some of my friends.
We were headed down to Las Vegas to
work for ESPN at the BYU vs. Oregon bowl game. As a future sports
broadcaster, I was excited to get ESPN on my resume. I had offered to
use my car for the drive down. It was a Ford Focus that was only a
few years old and my first real car. I loved that little silver
thing. My parents helped me buy it during my junior year of college
so I could travel back and forth to the BYU Broadcasting building,
which was several miles south of campus.
A few weeks prior, my fellow
broadcasting students and I found out we were hired to work the game.
My friend James* had offered to drive down in his little car, but I
shrugged off his offer---my car was newer, bigger and would be a lot
more comfortable. Plus, this was the first time that I could drive
out of state with my own car. It was a pretty selfish and prideful
reason.
The moment I made the decision to take
my car, I felt uneasy. I wasn’t quite sure why, but I knew
something wasn’t right. I called my dad and asked his opinion. He
said I should take another car and leave mine in Utah. But no, no, my
dad doesn’t know what he’s talking about, I thought. I brushed
off his warning and made plans to take my car.
Dec. 21 was a cold day in Provo. My
friend James offered to drive first. We were all so excited to be on
the sidelines for the game, as we were all avid BYU fans. We chatted
back and forth until we got to Beaver, Utah. That’s when the
trouble started.
The little Ford Focus revved its engine
but was stuck in second gear. My friend James tried to get the car to
shift up, but it wouldn’t. My heart plummeted to my stomach. We
were going to be stuck on the side of the road in the middle of
nowhere. I realized what happened while I was on the phone with my
dad--- the Holy Ghost was warning me not to take my car.
At that time in my life, I was busy
with school, work, friends, my first college boyfriend. The Lord came
too far down on my list. Yes, I believed, but I was too
busy to read my scriptures every day. I gave half-hearted prayers before bed at night. I was 20 and my
world revolved around me. I wasn't thinking of Christmas or the
birth of our Savior. Even though it was days before Christmas, I was
thinking of myself.
But as soon as something went wrong, I
turned to God. My faith might not have been strong enough at the
time, but I believe the faith of the others in the car with me was
strong. With the help of prayer and determination, we slowly made our
way to a mechanic in Vegas, down the street from the stadium.
We waited for about 45 minutes until
the mechanic came out and gave us the diagnosis---it was bad. He
needed four days and $1,000. I. Freaked. Out. All four of us riding
in the car had to be back in Provo the next day to make our flights
home for Christmas. I called my dad crying. My dad, ever calm, gave
me the worst case scenario: I would have to leave my car and rent one
to get back to Utah, then somehow get back to Vegas to pick up my car
and drive it home. Praying silently, I asked Heavenly Father to
please let us get back home okay. I said the prayer, over and over
and over. Please let us make it home in time for our flights.
Unsure what to do, we all decided to
head over to the stadium. To my surprise, the car made it there okay.
From there, however, we got even more bad news: the worst storm of
the season was headed right in our direction. We would be crossing a
dangerous mountain pass between St. George and Cedar City, right in
the middle of what was supposed to be a blizzard. I knew my car
couldn't make it up those steep hills with snow and ice on the
ground when it was working normally. But now that the transmission
was not working right, I knew in my heart it would be a
life-threatening situation.
I couldn't enjoy the rest of the day,
even while working for my dream-job company, ESPN. My stomach was in
knots as I prayed harder than I ever had before in my life. Please,
Heavenly Father, help us to make it home. I know I haven’t been as
faithful I should be lately, but hear the plea of my heart. Help us
to make it home before the storm.
I repeated this prayer in my head for
the rest of the day. BYU won 38-8. We helped put away the equipment
and ESPN let us off after 11 p.m.
My heart was heavy as James, Taryn* and
I made our way to my car. James held the Melchizedek priesthood. I
put my faith in his faith and the power of the priesthood and asked
him to say a prayer before we started our journey. He did, asking the
Lord to bless us with safety, bless the car that it would work, bless
us to beat the storm home. I immediately felt the Spirit strongly in
that little car. I knew that everything was going to be okay. I had a
feeling of peace in my heart.
James took the first shift driving. We
turned the corner. Entered the street. And the car shifted fine. We
made our way to the freeway. And the car drove perfectly. We got onto
the freeway, and the car shifted up to fourth without a problem. The
check engine light was gone.
At that moment, I knew I was witnessing
a miracle. I wasn’t sure if it was because of my faith, the faith
of my friends, or the faith of our families praying for us, but we
were truly blessed that night driving home.
Thousands of
stars sparkled in the winter night. There was not a cloud in the sky
the entire way home. There was no dangerous storm in our path. We
were passing cars on the freeway who did not know of the miracle that
was happening in our car. We passed cities that were unaware that the
Lord was giving us heavenly blessings. Why? Why would the Lord so
mercifully bless someone who had neglected Him for months?
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav'n.
My faith was strengthened and renewed during that quiet ride home to Provo. I will never forget that tender mercy of Heaven. It was just a little thing, so inconsequential-- to make it home in enough time to make our flights home for Christmas. But the Lord heard our prayers and my heart was turned toward Christ.
It is still easy for me to get
distracted. I have two little girls, a job, a home to take care of,
friends to see, parks to go to, gym classes to attend, dates to go on
with my husband, who is in turn equally busy with grad school… it
is still so easy to forget who should be at the center of my life. I want to always remember Him. And it is my job, my responsibility and my deepest desire to teach my daughters to always turn to Him, too.
That’s why Christmas time is so
special and powerful and wonderful. If we let it, we can take a step
back from our busy lives and reflect on the Savior, the greatest
miracle of all. We can right our course and let Him become the center
of our lives again.
The quiet miracles of Christ are still
ever-present in my life. I am grateful for the chance every December
to remember the blessings of Heaven in my life.
I invite you to reflect and write down
your small, quiet miracles and blessings of Heaven you have
experienced and let Christ enter in to your heart this Christmas
season.
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav'n.
No ear may hear his coming; but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.
