following a star

And the star the wise men had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
-- Matthew 2:9-11 --

The wise men followed a star to mark the birth of Jesus. And, not that I followed a star to come to McMurdo Station, but I did neatly fit into God's plan when I flew down here, again, this fall and found myself standing underneath this silvery apparition.

I stood, alone, under this holiday decoration strung between some power poles on our dirty road the other day, looked up at the brilliant blue sky, and just smiled; giggled, actually, with joy. Who would have ever believed that I would celebrate Christmas (two years in a row) in Antarctica? It certainly wasn't me, but here I am. And, who would have believed that a child born in a barn would counteract the effects sin brought upon this entire world? But there a Savior was born and people from all around knew, saw, and felt the glory of God come down and the went to seek it with blind faith!

My laughing under our fabricated star came from a joyful heart; a believing, faithful, thankful heart. Sometimes, though, I feel a little like Sarai when she was told she was going to give birth to a Isaac in her old age. Even though I've seen God's work, part of me still laughs at the possibility of God coming up with more big things happening in life, because of their peculiarity, or outlandishness. But, he brought me here. And, he brought Jesus to the world, and no matter where he sets me next, I am still His; doing big things in little invisible ways, or in huge statements.