This is a bit overdue, but I can't get it out of my mind, so I'm going to talk about it anyway. Near the beginning of December, I went to a concert. It was the Christmas performance of the Sterling Singers. My friend Lance is in this group. I have always loved hearing him sing. Not that I could hear him individually, but the group always brings tears to my eyes when I hear it.
I got to the theater early. I was sitting kind of high up and could easily see everyone that was coming and going. There was lots of activity. The choir was doing a warm up and running through some of their pieces. I didn't want to spoil the actual concert, so I wasn't paying much attention. I was scanning the crowd to see if any of Lance's family was there so that I could sit with them. I was by myself. As I was watching the people, I saw a man that I was pretty sure was Elder D. Todd Christofferson. He was in a suit, where most people were casually dressed. He shook lots of people's hands. After watching him for a while, I was sure it was him, which was later confirmed by my friend, Lance. I kind of wanted to shake his hand, but didn't want to bother him. As time went on, I didn't see Lance's family. People sat on either side of me, so there was no chance that anyone else would sit by me. I continued to watch Elder Christofferson, curious to know what an apostle does in his free time.
When the concert started, there were still many people coming into the theater. I continued to watch them and also Elder Christofferson. I wasn't really listening to the beautiful music from the choir. Sometimes I would watch Lance, but wasn't really paying attention or feeling the spirit. As the traffic of concert goers subsided, I realized what I was doing. I was there for the sole purpose of listening to the choir's beautiful music. They always had helped me to feel the spirit. I really liked getting a spiritual boost at the beginning of the season.It always makes Christmas much more special. I decided to only pay attention to the concert. I really felt the spirit and was so glad to be there. I was able to find Lance's family after the concert. They were there, but with all my watching, I never saw them come in.
This experience made me realize that so many times, I get distracted by things that are not helping me to achieve my true purpose for being on this earth. I am here to come to Christ. To feel his spirit. There are so many things in this world that are moving in front of us, crying for our attention. Most of them aren't important. We have to look past them to see our true purpose. Even focusing on good people can be a distraction. While Elder Christofferson is an apostle of God, and is a special witness of Christ, if we focus only on the man and not the message, it isn't doing us as much good. If we put our focus on Christ, we can see the world as he does. We experience joy and can feel the spirit. Everything else is put in proper perspective.
I hope I can remember to always put Christ as the center of my life. To keep things in perspective and remember what my real purpose of being on this earth is. I know that is the true way to have peace and joy all year long.
Lance singing with the Sterling Singers (top, left)
Really bad pic of Elder Christofferson I took with my phone.
When the concert started, there were still many people coming into the theater. I continued to watch them and also Elder Christofferson. I wasn't really listening to the beautiful music from the choir. Sometimes I would watch Lance, but wasn't really paying attention or feeling the spirit. As the traffic of concert goers subsided, I realized what I was doing. I was there for the sole purpose of listening to the choir's beautiful music. They always had helped me to feel the spirit. I really liked getting a spiritual boost at the beginning of the season.It always makes Christmas much more special. I decided to only pay attention to the concert. I really felt the spirit and was so glad to be there. I was able to find Lance's family after the concert. They were there, but with all my watching, I never saw them come in.
This experience made me realize that so many times, I get distracted by things that are not helping me to achieve my true purpose for being on this earth. I am here to come to Christ. To feel his spirit. There are so many things in this world that are moving in front of us, crying for our attention. Most of them aren't important. We have to look past them to see our true purpose. Even focusing on good people can be a distraction. While Elder Christofferson is an apostle of God, and is a special witness of Christ, if we focus only on the man and not the message, it isn't doing us as much good. If we put our focus on Christ, we can see the world as he does. We experience joy and can feel the spirit. Everything else is put in proper perspective.
I hope I can remember to always put Christ as the center of my life. To keep things in perspective and remember what my real purpose of being on this earth is. I know that is the true way to have peace and joy all year long.
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