Lessons from the Wise Men

No I'm not crazy, I know that Christmas is still months in coming! So why do I feel the need to post about the Three Wise Men, who naturally send our thoughts directly to Christmas?

Let me see if I can explain.

Summer is over. That's just the simple truth. Once school starts and you begin to feel a hint of fall in the air during the morning, then summer is officially over.
  For a girl who loves the kinds of freedoms that summer has to offer, this is a hard thing to accept. This fall seems a little bit harder because the barefoot gardener girl now has to lace up her sneakers, pack up her school books, or put on her hairnet (depending on the day) and head off to work or school.
   Let me make one thing clear before I go on - I love to work and I love to learn, but on my own terms (I'm kind of a stinker that way, I guess).
   It's hard for me to leave home when there are so many things that I want to get done here but have to leave to themselves while I go sit through a college math class.
   *By now some of you may be hearing the world's smallest violin as it plays a heart-breaking song for my woes* As Jane Austen so wisely put it, "Those who never complain are never pitied."
   Ok, enough of the pity party!
You also might be wondering what all of that has to do with the 3 Wisemen. It's a bit tricky to try and tie this all together but hopefully you can follow and we'll all come out on the same page!
   The wisemen knew that one day there was going to be a sign and that when that sign came - the new star in the heavens - they were supposed to follow it because it meant the Savior had been born and the star would lead them the right way to get there.
   They knew what they wanted and they watched for the sign. As soon as it was time they packed up and began their journey. I don't know all the details of the years of preparation they spent up to that point, or exactly what they went through in order to be ready when the time came. What we do know is that they watched, waited, then acted.
   We also know that they had to travel great distances, which that alone is probably enough to fill a whole journal with their experiences. ;) They undoubtedly passed through many unknown roads and challenges, things they'd never really seen coming or planned on having to deal with.
  But fear of the unknown was not enough to keep them from making the journey! They knew where they wanted to end up and who it was they were going to see and that was enough to keep them going.
   They even had to stop for directions along the way! Even though the star was still there, it became necessary for them to stop for a minute, re-evaluate, and ask for some pointers in order to stay on the right path.
   Do you ever wonder if there were points during their expedition when they might have thought to themselves, "Is this worth it? Maybe we should just go back." Or, "This is taking a lot longer than I thought it would and it's hard and I'm tired. Who knows if we'll even make it?"
   They were wise, yes, but they were also human and that makes me think that it's possible that even they had their "moments" when doubt or discouragement came to mind. The point is, whether or not that was the case, they kept going!
  Here's the other thing, when they saw the star for the first time they knew that Christ had been born. I wonder if they pictured Him as a baby each time they thought about Him. In the scriptures it says that He was a child when they saw Him for the first time. I'm not trying to make up my own doctrine here, I just think it makes sense that he wouldn't have been a tiny brand new baby by the time they got there.
  Now to apply all of this to our lives!
Do we have a certain image or goal of the way in which we want our lives to result? For me there are things that seem so specific and I just want "to get there". But am I willing to forge ahead down unknown roads? Do I give up and turn around when things feel like they take too long or it's too hard?
  The 3 Wisemen are such great examples of "seeing the end from the beginning" so to speak. They showed us that you fix yourself on the mark and then you keep your focus there no matter what distractions or hardships might try to slow you down.
  Also to keep the bigger picture in mind - what if Christ really was a "child" by the time they got there, and the only thing they'd planned on was a little baby? Do you think they were disappointed that they'd taken so long on the journey? Did it mean less to them that maybe he wasn't exactly the way they thought he would have been? No! The point was that they made it and in the end they got to see Him, which was what they'd wanted all along. They knew it had all been worth it and they were gratified for their efforts.
  I know that in all my planning and picturing of the future that sometimes I get so stuck on how I think it should be, that I miss the importance of what it could really come out like.
   Example, in case that doesn't make sense: I'm 23, not graduated from college, or raising my own family yet, or doing a lot of the things that people my age or younger are doing. Does that mean that the journey is too hard and that it's time to turn around and give up? Does that mean that since it didn't all happen the way I pictured it would by now that it never will or that it won't be as important if it takes longer than I planned?
  Nope!
As the wisemen taught us, the end result is the part we work for, but the journey is what makes it so worth the earning!
  And as Henry David Thoreau stated, "Surely joy is the condition of man!"
We have amazing church leaders who remind us of that constantly, thank goodness!! And I'm sure that even the 3 Wisemen would agree that despite challenges we face as we work towards our ultimate goal (the Savior),  there is still so much to learn and enjoy through it all. And there really is!
  So the thing I really want to practice is remembering that even though there are things I have to do that might be hard or not exactly what I hoped I'd have to do, it's not the end! The Savior is the star we watch and follow and if we don't let Him out of our sight, we're going to make it and it will be worth every trial we encounter. Plus, life is not meant to only have trials, we're here to be happy and have joy!! There is so much to greatful for and glad about we just need to remember and not loose hope.
  And that is my thought for the day.