One thing I’ve learned in 2020 is to embrace simple pleasures. Just a few months ago, my favorite restaurant reopened with outdoor seating. Having created a nice garden area, I was once again able to sit at a table and enjoy my favorite sandwich in the company of my wife Hannah, who happens to be my favorite human being. Even better, while we were there, we ran into a friend from church, and that made my heart all the more full. This simple outing — something I would have taken for granted just six months before — now offered a reason for me to overflow with joy and gratitude. And so it is with many things this year. While there are still uncertainties looming ahead with the ongoing effects of COVID-19, we have the opportunity to find deep satisfaction and renewed joy in the activities we once considered commonplace. No longer do we take blessings for granted, for we’ve seen over the past nine months just how precious life is. As our eyes have been opened to this truth, many of us have realized that it actually takes little to bring true satisfaction to our souls. I encourage us to keep that in mind as we put aside our need for endless entertainment and get back to the basics in the days and months ahead. 

My friend, in this unconventional holiday season, it’s good to remember what’s most important. If there’s food on your table, love in your heart, and a spouse, friend, child, or grandchild to share it with, you are blessed. Though things don’t feel normal right now, God’s bounteous love is still flowing, and His joy is being made complete in you. As you focus on the simple pleasures in your daily life and ask your Savior to meet you there, He will fill your heart with contentment and teach you to be happy with much less than you thought you needed! Isn’t that wonderful news?