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Valuable Information Can Get You Through Any Hardship
A man built like a lumberjack, walking his Chihuahua, saw me standing with my fly rod and approached me. “How was the fishing?” I truthfully told him that I had caught nothing. He replied, “Morris Island is loaded with fish. I was just there this morning.” My friend and I headed out. Now, Morris Island is a very exclusive area at the Cape. When we approached the area, there were road signs that read, “No Parking,” “Tow Away Zone,” “Keep Out,” “We Hate You,” and “Leave Your Wallet at the Curb and Go Away.” My friend suggested that we turn around. I retorted, “I am not giving up.” Finally, we turned a corner, and there it was. We pulled into the lot and saw that all the fishermen were heading toward their vehicles. I stopped one of them and asked, “Where is everyone going?” He answered, “The fish left after the tide changed. It was not worth going down there because the point is a mile and a half away. Still, I was determined not to give up. We finally arrived at the point, and there were no birds, no fishermen, no boats, and no sign of a fish. I made a cast anyway and caught a fish, then another. It was one of the best fishing days I ever had.
Let me recap what happened. I had received a valuable piece of information, and I had left on a quest. During the entire journey, I had bad directions and misguided advice. I had been given no encouragement, and had received discouraging reports. I had many reasons to give up, but I did not. The reason is that I had a piece of valuable information to keep me motivated. That was all I needed.
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, He gave her valuable information. The Savior of the world, the Son of God, shall be born among us. After this information, however, there were obstacles. Mary was pregnant outside of wedlock. There was talk of divorce. The child was born in poverty. The baby’s life was threatened by a neurotic King, one of the day’s most ruthless and powerful men. The threat was real, and they had to exile themselves to another country for an undetermined amount of time. Joseph could not return to the town of his business. When the boy was twelve years old, he went missing for three days—a nightmare for any parent. The Temple, however, was a center of learning. Any mother would have been proud to have her child enrolled in the Harvard University of the ancient world. But Mary took Jesus back to Nazareth. This was a wise decision because the boy would not have lived to see his thirteenth birthday. Through all of the difficulty, Mary never quit. She persevered because she had valuable information.
The Gospel says that people were going to Jesus from everywhere. They all had valuable information about Him. We do as well. No matter how hard it gets or the obstacles we may meet. We can overcome all of them. Because we, too, have valuable information.
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