Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Search by Lucy

A few days ago, Mark and I went shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts for Aaron and Joanna. We ventured off on our own to see if we could even find Walmart! Luckily, the directions we were given were good (Look for the yellow sign that is higher than all the rest, and turn right between the two Coke signs!), and we arrived at the Walmart in Cuautla. Then it was off to find the perfect gifts for our kids. Four hours later, we finally left Walmart, tired, hungry, and happy to be leaving. We searched high and low for the things on our list. Some we found. Some we did not. Where do you think they stock coffee filters? With the coffee? No. With the paper products? No. Maybe we'll never know. We tried to ask with no success. We were pointed to the instant coffee, an instant fix. But we left Walmart without coffee filters (Sorry Ashleigh!).

The adventure reminded me of the magi, searching for the newborn king. Their directions were very different from ours (Follow the brightest star in the sky.), and they had a much longer journey to endure (and I felt like 4 hours in Walmart was an eternity!). But they had the star to lead the way, and faith that their search would end with a meeting with the king!

Sometimes people find themselves searching, feeling lost (like in Walmart), and not even knowing what they are searching for. Sometimes we find something that we think is the perfect fit, or an instant fix (like instant coffee), and we buy it. But after we get it home, it is not quite right, or it wears out, or we use it up, and we are off on the search again.

The magi found the perfect gift. Their search ended the day they found the little boy, the king of the universe. May we never stop searching until we find Him too, and may we recognize Him for who He is, the perfect gift, sent to save the world.

The star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down to worship Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, and of incense, and of myrrh. Matthew 2:9b-11

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