Spread the cheer

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I love Christmas time!  Why wouldn’t anyone?  It’s a time of merriment, a time for drawing near to family and dear friends, and a time for rejoicing in the goodness of God.

That said, many LDS singles radiate negativity during the holidays.  Last week I advocated the perspective that even the worst days can be great days if we recognize every day as a gift from God.  Some may find that perspective hard to grasp, especially if they’ve been so focused on the negative aspects of their lives that their reality is overwhelmingly negative.

That’s why we all need to spread the cheer of the holiday season. Reaching out to others in that spirit of the season can help them to find a better focus that can lead to a better reality.  And helping others to experience joy can bring joy into our own lives.

That’s what those who feel overwhelmed with negativity during the holidays really need.  They need to feel loved so that they in turn can help others to feel loved.  We can kickstart that cycle of joy in their lives as well as ours when we reach out and spread the cheer.

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Obey the law

Yeah, life is hard, and woe to you because you’re single.  I get it.  Believe me, having been single for more than 20 years, I really do get it.

Here’s what I also get — happiness comes from giving your all to the right things.  Negativity and a constant vision of what you lack is never one of those right things.  It never has been, and it never will be.

That’s because the universe obeys natural law, one of which is the Law of the Harvest.  You can’t get carrots from planting apple seeds.  If you want to reap carrots, plant carrot seed.  Likewise, if you want to reap happiness, then plant happiness seed.

And what’s happiness seed?  It’s giving your all to the right things.  Certainly keeping those covenants we have made is among those right things.  But it’s more than just checking items off a to-do list.  It’s a way of being that defines who we are.

That means giving to others can’t be just a project or something nice to do.  It has to express a sincere interest in sharing joy we really feel inside.

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Lend a hand

It’s certainly hard to share something you don’t have.  Serving others can bring positivity to those overwhelmed with negativity.  But negativity doesn’t prompt positive action, which provides an obstacle for those who most need to take such action.  That’s why we need to reach out and lend a hand.

Natural law still holds true regardless of what anyone chooses.  Those who focus on negativity will have a negative reality.  If we choose to help them, they might change their focus, which will give them a different reality.  If we choose not to help them, they likely won’t change their focus and will reap the same reality they’ve been having.

That’s why we need to spread the cheer.  A positive reality comes only from a positive focus.  Being creatures of habit, we all need some external force to break the bonds of inertia that keeps us keeping on in negative habits.  We can provide that external force for others when we spread cheer into their lives.

Solomon once said, “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Proverbs 15:13).  We need to fill the tank of others so they then and fill the tanks of still others.  If you’ve ever had to run on empty, you know how difficult it can be to continue serving others when you really need someone to serve you.

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Share the love

By spreading the cheer of the season in service to others, we celebrate the real reason for the season.  God’s gift of His Son provides the hope that underlies every reason we have for good cheer.  Because of the Atonement, we have not only the promise of living forever with our Heavenly Father and every blessing He wants us to have but also heavenly help as we journey there.

The Lord Himself has declared,

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Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
     And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.
     And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more. (D&C 78:17–19)

What a glorious promise!  The Lord will lead us to every blessing we lack.  How can we believe Him and not rejoice?  We have every reason for cheer.

And we have every reason to spread the cheer to others.  So what cheer are you spreading?  Whose heart will be lifted because of your cheer?  When we spread the cheer of the holiday season in any season, we share the love of our Lord such that we cannot help but also be partakers.  And that brings more joy into all of our journeys.