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Sabbath Devotional :: Journey to Bethlehem
There is so much that I love about the Christmas story. I love the humbleness and innocence, the inconvenience and chaos, the hope and promise. Such an unlikely gathering of people. Mary and Joseph alone in a stable with shepherds and angels in a nearby field and later three kings from a far away place. Over the years, I have identified with many of the players in the story. I have been the new mother, tired and bewildered but in love with my infant. I have been the good shepherd, abiding with my little flock — feeding them, keeping them warm and safe and counting them every night. I have…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Star of Bethlehem
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2). The star of Bethlehem is one of my favorite Christmas images. I love the symbolism of light and I think the single star shining brighter than all the rest is beautiful in its simplicity. Although, I’ve been wondering if I imagine it wrong. Herod had not noticed a star. He was not the only one who…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Changing Seasons
I have been staying with my sister this weekend and watching as she expertly navigates her three young children and all that entails. There’s rarely a calm or quiet moment. If the kids are occupied, then she’s cooking or cleaning or doing any number of other tasks that needs done. At one point, I mentioned I needed to write a devotional today, and I asked her what she thought I should write it on, and she paused and asked me who the devotional was for. I said that a lot of the audience was just like her. She paused and then gave me an insightful idea. Then, as I tried…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Let Him In
When I was baptized I was given a generic copy of the Bible in Primary. It had a frontispiece featuring a glorious color image of Christ standing before a door and raising His hand to knock. I loved the image and looked at it often. It references a scripture in Revelations which says: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelations 3:20) This comforting promise communicates the essence of the Savior’s relationship with us. It is a scripture filled with active love — Christ is…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Hózhó (Balance and Beauty)
I recently attended an organ concert at the ASU LDS Institute and one of the pieces played was composed by a Navajo man named Connor Chee. The composer shares that in the Navajo culture the idea of balance and beauty “binds all things together in the universe.” I’ve always been drawn to the idea of opposition to keep balance in the world. We are reminded about this in 2 Nephi 2:11 “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. . . . neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Parable of the Sower
Earlier this year, as I read the Parable of the Sower, something new caught my attention. As the Sower went out to sow, it says that some seeds “fell by the way side,” some “fell upon stony places,” some “fell among thorns,” and others “fell into good ground.” It’s that word “fell.” It seems so arbitrary. The Sower, who is good, didn’t deliberately put the seeds in different kinds of ground. They fell there. In the past few weeks, I have felt overwhelmed and burdened by events in the world and in our country. I find myself grasping for any threads of hope to hang on to. I fear the…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Ye Shall Have a Song
My friend Lavina Fielding Anderson died this week, and that means Thanksgiving is earlier and sadder for me than usual this year. Lavina introduced me to this beautiful passage from a sermon of John Donne, and I make everyone listen to it every year before Thanksgiving dinner. I have been reading it over and over, along with Lavina’s beautiful essays on mercy. God made sun and moon to distinguish seasons, and day and night, and we cannot have the fruits of the earth but in their seasons; but God hath made no decree to distinguish the seasons of his mercies. In paradise the fruits were ripe the first minute, and…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Belonging
I was listening to an episode of a podcast recently and they were discussing the topic of belonging in that particular episode. One of the podcast hosts remarked that the experience of feeling left out was the “shadow side” of having community or wanting to be a part of a community. This description really resonated with me and made a lot of sense in understanding a universal human emotion. As the podcast hosts and guests discussed this topic they noted the distinctions between belonging versus fitting in. They articulated that fitting in is when we change things about ourselves in order to try to fit in with the people around…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Peace
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 Lately, John 14:27 is echoing in my mind, and I find myself flashing back to when I was 18. At 18, my family received devastating blow after devastating blow after devastating blow. It remains one of the darkest times of my life, and it was for a few years. I couldn’t see any hope of even a fragment of light at that time. There was seemingly no end or reprieve in sight. Just never-ending darkness. During that time,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Peace Comes to Brood and Sit
This week, as horrors have unfolded in Israel and Gaza, I have been struck by how much the world pulls us to take sides, make statements, opine loudly. So many organizations have felt compelled to send me emails about their positions, or even explanations for why they do not yet have a position. This cacophony clangs against the cymbal crash of the news; the wars of words threaten to consume what is left of the world. I’ve asked myself amidst the din how I can make peace, and what “peace” can possibly mean on the lips of someone as removed from the depths of pain as I am, by geography…
