Caroling w/ the Presidency

I have such a wonderful stake presidency. And yes, as stake executive secretary my father counts. At least, in my mind. Anyways, every December these awesome church leaders take the time to go around to various members in the stake, sing carols to them, and leave a small gift. It's such a sweet way to show their love.

This year, I was blessed with the opportunity to go with them. It takes them several nights to cover all the wards in our stake, but my dad can usually make it to all of them. Last night, however, was also the night of Sarah's Christmas concert at the high school. He really wanted to go, and--for reasons I won't say here for fear of being run out of town--I didn't. (I love you, Sarah!) So when, on our morning walk, he was trying to figure out how to go both caroling and to Sarah's concert, I solved his problem for him and volunteered to go in his place. He was happy, I was happy. Win-win.

I invited Heidi Sager, my friend since high school, to come with me so I wouldn't be the only girl (awkward!). She eagerly accepted the invitation for which I was extremely grateful. We met Brothers Hunt, Gifford, & Wyeth and Presidents Ballard and Bush at the stake center at around 7:00pm. The brethren were so happy that we could come--in all honesty I don't think they would have considered themselves hindered if they were short one singer but they were ecstatic to find that they had TWO replacements for one man, and even better, we were both sopranos and could carry tunes! Yay!

It was overall a very fun night. Between houses we would chat and joke and by the end of it my jaw hurt from smiling so much. We had a limited repertoire of songs, but it didn't matter. The brethren sang them all very nicely and each verse was sincere. We must have gone to twenty different houses, ending each visit with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and a gift of a little "Polar Express bell." On each bell was a tag that said "Believe." I'm sure you know how that relates to a Polar Express bell and if you don't, we can't be friends.

It was all very sweet and happy, and half of the fun for me was getting to ride with Heidi, sing along to her Christmas CDs, admire the lights on all the houses we passed, and generally just catch up with each other. But my favorite event of the whole night was very early on at the second house we visited.

The brother living there wasn't able to come to the door, so we all were invited inside and sang to him at his bedside. As soon as we started "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," this sweet old man's chin trembled and he squeezed his eyes shut to keep back tears. It was hard work to keep my own tears back when I saw that, but by the end of the song I was able to smile, because I knew that he wasn't sad because he was close to death--he was just so touched and so tuned in to the Spirit that our kind gesture of singing a Christmas hymn for him moved him to tears.

That's what caroling is all about. It's not about showing off your singing skills. It shouldn't seem like a chore for the people you sing to to get up and stand awkwardly at the door until you finish and walk away. Caroling is all about invoking the Spirit using a universal language that is incapable of being misunderstood--music. Singing to others is service. It's providing an excuse for people to take a few minutes of their day to feel the love of Christ, and when you sing with that intent, people will recognize it as a gift to them.

So if you ever get the chance this December and in Decembers to come, please go caroling. Sing to your neighbors and friends who need a little Christmas cheer. As Buddy the Elf said, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." Believe it!