168: Wise Men and Not so Wise Men

Aha:
As Clinton and I were driving home after getting McDonald's ice cream cones, we passed by a neighborhood church.  Outside, walking along the sidewalk, were three wise men holding a map of some sort and pointing up at the sky.  At first, I thought to sort of make fun that they were acting while no one was looking, but then I thought...I'm looking.
It really was a neat moment for me to see these men portraying the wise men on the corner of a busy street. They were out acting in the cold but appeared to truly be searching for the way to the Son of God.  I have no idea if they were rehearsing or if that was their performance, but it affected me nonetheless.  I needed that reminder to be earnestly seeking Jesus Christ.
There are signs all around that point to Him (especially at Christmas) but there are times when wisdom is required to find Him.  Times of doubt, times of trial, times of loneliness, times of pain, times of pondering, and times of hopelessness.  There is no physical map that leads to Jesus Christ but He is possible to find through prayer, scripture study, service and love.
I did not realize how desperately I needed to find Him until this brief glimpse into history on the corner of a busy road, but how grateful I am to have witnessed it for myself--three wise men actively seeking the new born babe.

Ha ha:
We went to dinner with some friends at the local Applebees.  Now, I don't know about you, but I've never really thought they were known for superb service--and tonight was no exception.  Anytime any of us asked a question our server had to check with someone else, or just didn't know the answer altogether.  Sure, he may have been new, so we'll give him that, and he did refill our drinks regularly, but when our food was brought out to the table it wasn't our server that brought it.  It must have been bussers or another server, but either way, they had no idea what was going on.  This is literally what happened.
We see our food coming
The servers approach our table
They look at each other dumbfoundedly
We look at each other skeptically
One of the servers grabs a plate and looks at it with a confused look on their face
We start to say what we ordered, to help with delivery
The plate-distributing server mumbles in a bored, yet exasperated way, "I don't know where any of this goes!"
We exchange glances and desperately try to hold back the laughter

Another great date at Applebees. :)