Daily Bread Dec. 23

Volumes of Love
By Shelley Buffit of Grand Valley, Ontario, Canada


How blessed are they! For they published peace; they published good tidings of good; and they declared to the people that the Lord reigns. —Mosiah 11:207

Every Christmas for 30 years I have written each of my three daughters a letter. The format of each letter is the same. I begin in recognition of a particular event through which I saw their character grow since the last Christmas letter. Next, I offer a view of how that growth reflects their values. I remember some of these “words of wisdom” from scriptures and other books. Or I remember an event in our lives that influenced our “life-path decisions.” Finally, I end each letter with a prayer for the coming year, always meant to encourage and express love.

Since then, my letters have extended to grandchildren, stepchildren, sons-in-law, great grandchildren, and occasionally a friend or someone alone on Christmas Day.

Every year when I presented the Christmas card letters to my children, I included a handsome sum of money. Now, because of my financial difficulty, my cards alone are all I can offer.

My family sensed my discomfort. They each said, “Mom, gifts don’t mean as much as your Christmas letter.” I realized how significant my letters are when my 17-year-old stepson listed his “Christmas wants.” I asked him what he liked from the year before and he immediately said, “Your letter.”

I share the good tidings of Christmas in simple, one- or two-page, love-filled letters which have returned volumes of love to me.

Prayer for Peace

Loving God, help us spread the love that is reborn each Christmas. May we publish good tidings of comfort, joy, and peace.

Spiritual Practice: Advent – Love

Reflect on the love of God. How is it that God sent Christ to be “all our loves exceeding”? How do you see God’s love revealed in Christ? How do you reveal God’s love in your own life? Think of ways you can express that love as you prepare for the Son of God—Love’s Pure Light. Thank God for the supreme gift of love: Jesus Christ.

Peace Covenant

Today, God, I will share a simple story of love with someone who does not know Christ’s peace.

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