Let’s keep our eye on the star

We left Fairbanks the day after Thanksgiving on our way to Qatar for my first deployment. I will admit that I felt nervous as the KC-135 tanker climbed to 39,000 feet and made its way across the great white north. When we were over Greenland the Northern Lights were brilliant. I had never seen them that vibrant and colorful as they danced across the sky. I would also scan the earth below as we flew and to be honest, there were not many lights to be seen until we hit Europe. The lights we did see, however dim, stood out in sharp contrast to the darkness surrounding it. It created a powerful image in my mind as we flew. Large areas of darkness with a single light, struggling to fight through the darkness. I imagined the family down there and would imagine what they were doing or what they were like as we flew overhead.

We arrived at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and it was all shades of brown as we looked at our home for the next few weeks. We went about throwing ourselves into the work before us. Yes, the days were long, but we felt we had a purpose. My favorite part was participating in the air to air refueling as we flew over Iraq and Afghanistan. As I sat in the cockpit as the crew flight surgeon, cities like Bagdad, Kabul and Kandahar lit up the horizon, but smaller towns and forward operating bases were dimly lit. I would make up stories of the Army and Marines embedded in their bases, eating, laughing and working. I thought of the convoys that would bring supplies to and from these remote bases. The risks of ambushes and roadside bombs that they would try to avoid filled my mind and their reality. I felt a little guilty as we flew safely overhead while they were the ones in real danger.

Christmas Eve found me again flying to places unknown, refueling different aircraft and laying down in the back of the plane and looking out the window at the ground. It seemed particularly dark that night with the lights below fighting through the black sky in Afghanistan. I wondered how people traveled in that darkness and then it hit me. I had been looking down the whole time and not looking up. It had been clear that night and even though the moon was dim the stars were brilliant. The lights in the sky were the guiding factor and not the ones on the ground. In John 8:12 the Savior states “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.”

Christ is the light. The wise men followed the star for many days and nights, however during the day, the stars were not seen, so I am sure that their path was not a straight one. I can remember many times in my own life when my path has been all over the place, as I failed to follow the star. Even though my time in Qatar had been exciting in many ways, I also felt terribly alone as I knew no one else in my deployment. This loneliness put me in a funk that I wasn’t sure how to escape that Christmas Eve.

Was I following the star during my deployment? That was not an easy question to answer. I wanted to, but I had lost my way some as I worked and tried to block out the fact that I was away from my family for Christmas. I was likely more of a Grinch than one full of holiday cheer.

So, I looked back at the ground and I felt like I could almost make out the wise men, making their way across the sand, not in a straight line, fighting the wind and weather to make it to Christ. I realized that their trek was not overnight but took weeks and months to get there. If they could make it through their trials to find the Lord, I could change my direction and find the Lord as well that Christmas season.

As we ponder this day before the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, perhaps we need to seek for the star. We can help others find the light whose way has been clouded by life and the stresses of it. My prayer is that this Christmas season we keep our eye on the star and follow the example of Christ. As the Wise Men valiantly sought the Savior, their reward became time spent with Him. May we also valiantly seek Him and have His Spirit be with us throughout the year.

John Boston is a local physician and serves in the Alaska Air National Guard. He has completed over 100 combat missions and is credited with over 50 saves. He also volunteers for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as assistant director of public affairs.