Life had been very dramatic for Joseph and Mary for quite a few months. First that angel had turned up and talked to Mary about having a baby who would be the Son of God (Luke's Gospel chapter1, verses 28 - 38). Then Joseph was told in a dream that what she was saying was true, to his great surprise (Matthew's Gospel chapter 1, verses 18 - 23). Just as they thought that they had sorted the matter out by getting married and settling down in Nazareth as a family (Matthew 1:24,25), there was a Roman census and they had to travel to Bethlehem, many miles away, just before Mary was due (Luke 2:1-5). Of course, the baby was born there when there was nowhere to stay (Luke 2:6,7), and shepherds turned up while he was still lying in a manger, saying that they'd been sent by yet more angels (Luke 2:8-20). However, things then calmed down. The young couple had their boy circumcised (Luke 2:21) and later presented in the Temple according to Jewish custom, albeit with a couple of prophets turning up (Luke 2:22-38). They then perhaps made a visit to their relatives up in Galilee (Luke 2:39), and then settled back down in Bethlehem.
About two years later, they were still there. Jesus had been doing all the things necessary to make his parents bond with him: filling nappies, crying, waking up in the night, crawling, walking round the furniture - everything was just as it should be! Then there was the knock on the door. Some gentlemen in very foreign attire, rather rich by all appearances, had arrived and asked to see the young King of the Jews. They explained that they had come from the east, led by some sort of sign in the sky, and when they arrived in Jerusalem, King Herod had sent them on south to find the toddler in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-10). The story sounded plausible, given all that had happened before, so they were shown into the house, where they worshipped the boy and gave him some presents (Matthew 2:11): gold (very nice, very regal, and could come in handy for a rainy day), frankincense (again very nice in a smelly sort of way, and very priestly) and myrrh (OK, a standard spice, but with connotations regarding burial - perhaps these gentlemen from foreign parts had different customs and didn't understand what their third gift implied).
Anyway, hospitality was everything in Israel in those days, so they were probably not allowed to leave until they had been given a fairly hearty meal to start them back on their long journey home. Then they set off and life went back to normal - until sometime later that night, when Joseph was sent a message in a dream (Matthew 2:13): "Get up and go with Mary and Jesus to Egypt, now!"
"Now?"
"Yes, now!"
"But it's dark and cold and I've just got off to sleep. Surely the morning will do."
"Now. Go now! Herod wants to kill Jesus and is sending his troops while we're arguing." "Mary, Mary, wake up, we're going to Egypt - now!"
Mary had learnt to trust Joseph's dreams, so off they went (Matthew 2:14). This time, though, it wasn't a well planned journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem with plenty of time built in, but a rush across the desert of southern Israel, into more desert in northeast Egypt and, presumably, on until they reached the fertile areas of the Nile. Once they were there, they had time to contemplate the visit by the Persian magi and their amazing gifts. Was that myrrh anything to do with what had been prophesied when they took Jesus to the Temple?
What, though, about the magi themselves? They were presumably Zoroastrian wise men, not followers of the Jewish (and only real) God, Yahweh. They may have been aware of Judaism, since the Jews had previously been subjects of the Persian empire for over two hundred years, but Matthew doesn't indicate that these were converts to Judaism. Yet, God saw their hearts and chose these men to be witnesses of the birth of his Son. They were prophetic enough to be able to recognize a sign that God gave them and follow it to the birthplace of Jesus. They worshipped, delivered their gifts, and were warned by God not to go back to Herod but make their way straight home (Matthew 2:12). What became of them? Their lives must have been changed forever, coming face to face with God, even if he was at the time in the form of a baby human.
God can reach across barriers and touch the hearts of people who don't even know that they are looking for him. When he does that, it's life-transforming. If he is reaching out to you, then don't resist, but let your life be transformed. If you're praying that he will touch the life of someone you love, then be assured that God is compassionate and gracious, and powerful to act. No one is beyond the reach of his love.