FOLLOWING THE THREE WISEMEN

Each leaf represents a memory, experience, friendship, passion or talent

Little is said about the amazing journey the three wise men made after the birth of the Christ child. They traveled a long way from the Orient bearing gifts, following the beautiful star, to the Christ child.  It wasn’t a short journey; it took years for them to reach their destination, a true labor of love.   

What amazing journey have you been on following the example of the three Wise Men?        

THE FRUITS OF MY LABORS:

As a child I grew up believing more in Old St. Nick, and thinking on the level of myself and the magic of Christmas.  I still believe in the Magic of Christmas, but more as a labor of love.

As an adult and retiring from raising a family, plus working out in the market place, I’ve come to realize that there is a time we need to enjoy the FRUITS OF OUR LABORS!  Breaking down the word enjoy, we see the last three letters are the word JOY.  I labored when I bore my children; learning love. I labored when I raised them and nurtured them; learning patience and understanding. I labored during their teen years; learning forgiveness, developing faith.  Looking through wiser eyes, I can now realize and enjoy the fruits of my labors, I see good children raising my grandchildren, great grandchildren. Enjoying watching my children become grandmothers and grandfathers, the love they have for their children and the sacrifices that they are making. It brings JOY to my soul.   

I have labored to develop my talents; nothing ever came very easy to me. Having a natural love for animals and having a home where we had enough room for them, I was able to realize a dream come true. I had a horse named Blazer.  He was a Thoroughbred and Arabian. I though just having love would be enough to train him, but I  soon learned I had to labor to become one with my horse to bring out the best of his abilities, him learning to trust me, me learning kindness, gentleness, and self-control. It became a labor of love. It was a JOY to feel him willingly perform to my commands without any resistance, you become as one, horse and rider. 

 While in Jr. High school, I read the classic book “The Secret Garden”. I felt inspired in wanting to be able to transfer a back yard into a beautiful garden.  I love nature so thought it would be easy to follow my passion. For some reason plants and flowers do not grow by them, only weeds do that without any encouragement. You spend as much time getting rid of the unwanted weeds to enable the seeds to go.  Once your flower bed have taken shape, they also require labor, constantly digging, fertilizing, planting and watering.  The JOY you feel when those plants become gorgeous buds and blooms then flower beds…. breathtaking!  I feel completely at peace among their beauty.

THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT:

So what are the gifts of the spirit? They are the gifts the Christ child gave to us….they are: …… Joy… Love….Patience…Kindness…Peace… Goodness… Gentleness and Self Control.   When we see the results of the Fruits of our Labors, we now can see we have also obtained the Fruits of the Spirit, amazing isn’t it. ?  Can we not reason within ourselves to follow the example of the Three Wise Men to enjoy the Fruits of the Spirit?   

            

“For behold, I bring you good tidings of great Joy! which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”

LUKE 2:11 KJV