It is the Christmas season and I am beyond excited. Not sure if any of you have seen these videos on here but you ought to go check this website out-
christmas.mormon.org
It has super powerful messages that give credit to this time of the year and I highly recommend all of you check it out. No matter where you are at as to your beliefs, I think it is easy to agree that all of us are going to be celebrating Christmas.
Just want to briefly share that I know of the power of the little things. Both good and evil, it is the little things that make a huge difference. To a young Elder Sandberg in the beginning of his high school career, it was not that big of a deal to ditch school here and there. It was a very simple thing that started out with one day at a time, and then turned into missing school for months on end. Started with one period, then two, then three, then eventually, like I said, I was not in school for the longest time.
It was the little justifications or rationalizations that led to the destruction of my life. It was the little things that eventually led to me hurting and damaging the relationships with those I love the most. It is all about the little things. I don't know of a single individual who just wakes up one day and decides to be some crazy maniac out on the streets doing absurd things. I know that because you cannot honestly say that you can look at a baby and think that they are going to grow up and do bad things. Those babies don't turn into monsters overnight. It is a process of here a little and there a little.
On the flip side, no one ever wakes up one day and decides to go on a mission. There is not a single person who is able to make 100% of a decision all in one single moment. Every thing we are and do is a collection of everything we have seen, heard, felt, experienced, lost, gained and been through.
I am here right now on a mission because of the little things that I have done to get out here. They are the same little things that we invite people to do on a regular basis. It is the simple act of praying, reading, and going to church. The enemy of all that is good, has limitless and innumerable ways to pull us down a path of destruction.. It is very complex and confusing.
On the other side, our Heavenly Father has presented one of the easiest way for us to more fully cling to that which would enable us to return to His presence. It is the process of study and communication. Prayer and scripture study are one of the easiest ways to feel His presence in an ever increasing dark world. I have seen day in and day out that these two things are what sustain me along this journey. It is these two things that have brought me from the delinquent, troubled child I was, to the missionary and representative of Jesus Christ that I now am.
It is all possible because of Jesus Christ. That is why there is such a sweet spirit in the air this time of the year. It is that feeling that is from God, that is telling you this is an important time. It's an important time because this is when He sent His Son off to do the most difficult and liberating things that this earth's existence has ever seen.
I invite each of you to learn why more fully we celebrate Christmas. Don't just settle for the basic answers that I could get from any 5 year old. Dig for an answer in the places that will yield the most correct answer. Try it and you will see for yourself.
I love all of you!
If any of you want a Christmas Card, please email me your mailing address ASAP
Elder Brayden James Sandberg
