> THE STORY OF THE 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 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 to
> see. 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 into 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 like one of
> them! Then I could save them! 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 like 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 Him.
>