Gorillas and Oranges—or What Christmas Means to Me

My dad often tells a story about a past December, one when I was probably very young or maybe not even around yet. He is a psychologist and sees many suffering people on a regular basis, and during this particular December, he made it a point to come home and tell the family about some of the hard things these people were dealing with: death, hurt, betrayal, guilt, regret, addiction, sorrow, etc. He told story after story, and it was quite sobering and depressing. After a few days of this, my mom finally asked him why he was sharing all of this ugliness, and he said it was because this is the month and the season when we celebrate the one person who can heal all of these wounds. For any pain, suffering, or sorrow—even the worst kind you can imagine—Jesus Christ is the solution.

That story has been on my mind this month. And it got even more real when I flipped open the Smithsonian magazine and glanced at an article about gorillas one day as I ate my lunch. I didn't even read much of the article because my eyes were drawn to a picture of a female gorilla cradling her stillborn baby. The caption said this gorilla repeatedly tried to revive the baby and cradled it and groomed it for two days. You could see the sorrow in the picture, and I felt my heart break for her, as a fellow mother.

Then I popped an orange slice into my mouth and smiled to myself, thinking it was a little bit silly that I was getting teary over gorillas while I was eating an orange. But it's not silly. That's the kind of anguish and sorrow the Savior can heal. Even gorillas feel this sorrow. We can cast our burdens on Him—He already knows how they feel—and as we try to be more like Him, we get better at handling life and finding true happiness.

Whether it's the death of a loved one, wrong choices (ours or someone else's), or whatever the case, Jesus Christ is the solution.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) 

I can't get over the love God has for us all, to give us such a gift.