The Flock of Geese

There was once a man who didn’t believe in the incarnation of Christ
or the spiritual meaning of Christmas, and was skeptical about God. He
and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout
believer and diligently raised her children in her faith. He sometimes
gave her a hard time about her faith and mocked her religious
observance of Christmas. "It’s all nonsense – why would God lower
himself and become a human like us?! It’s such a ridiculous story!" he
said.

One snowy Christmas day, she and the children left for church while he
stayed home. After they had left, the winds grew stronger and the snow
turned into a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire
for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against
the window. And another thump. He looked outside but couldn’t see. So
he ventured outside.

In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a
flock of geese! They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area
down south, but had been caught in the snow storm. The storm had
become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way.

They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do
more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles.

He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to
himself, "The barn would be a great place for them to stay! It’s warm
and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm."
So he opened the barn doors for them. He waited, watching them, hoping
they would notice the open barn and go inside. But they didn’t notice
the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer
toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him
out of fear. He went into the house and came back out with some bread,
broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still didn’t
catch on. Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo
them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction
except toward the barn.

Nothing he did could get them to go onto the barn where there was
warmth, safety and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed,
"Why don’t they follow me?

Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?
How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?"

He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn’t follow a
human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them?

The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I
could become one of them! Then I could save them! Then they would
follow me and I would lead them to safety." At that moment, he stopped
and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind:
"If only I could become one of them then I could save them." And then,
at last, he understood God’s Heart towards mankind, and he fell on his
knees in the snow and Worshipped God.