There was once a man who didn't
believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let
others know how he felt about religion and
religious holidays. His wife, however, did
believe, and she raised their children to also
have faith in God and Jesus, despite his
disparaging comments.
One snowy evening, his wife was taking their
children to service in the farm community in
which they lived. They were to talk about Jesus'
birth. She asked him to come, but he refused.
"That story is nonsense!" he
said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to
Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!"
So she and the children left, and he stayed
home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and
the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man
looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding
snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire
for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump.
Something had hit the window. He looked out, but
couldn't see more than a few feet.
When the snow let up a
little, he ventured outside to see what could
have been beating on his window. In the field
near his house he saw a flock of wild geese.
Apparently they had been flying south for the
winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and
couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on
his farm, with no food or shelter. They just
flapped their wings and flew around the field in
low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of
them had flown into his window, it seemed.
The man felt sorry for the geese
and wanted to help them. The barn would be a
great place for them to stay, he thought. It's
warm and safe; surely they could spend the night
and wait out the storm.
So he walked over to the barn and opened
the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping
they would notice the open barn and go inside.
But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly
and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize
what it could mean for them. The man tried to
get their attention, but that just seemed to
scare them, and they moved further away.
He went into the house and came
with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread
crumb trail leading to the barn. They still
didn't catch on.
Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind
them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but
they only got more scared and scattered in every
direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did
could get them to go into the barn where they
would be warm and safe. "Why don't they follow
me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the
only place where they can survive the storm?"
He thought for a moment and realized that they
just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a
goose, then I could save them," he said out
loud. Then he had an idea.
He went into barn, got one of his
own geese, and carried it in his arms as he
circled around behind the flock of wild geese.
He then released it. His goose flew through the
flock and straight into the barn -- and
one-by-one, the other geese followed it to
safety.
He stood silently for a moment as the words he
had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his
mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save
them!" Then he thought about what he had said to
his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like
us? That's ridiculous!"
Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had
done. We were like the geese -- blind, lost,
perishing. God had His Son become like us so He
could show us the way and save us. As the winds
and blinding snow died down, his soul became
quiet and pondered this wonderful thought.
Suddenly he understood why Christ had come.
Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the
passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow,
and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God,
for coming in human form to get me out of the
storm!"
Happy birthday, happy
birthday, babyOh, I love you soSixteen candles make a
lovely lightBut not as bright as
your eyes tonight (as your eyes tonight) (Oh)Blow out the candles,
make your wish come trueFor I'll be wishing that
you love me, too (that you love me, too)You're only sixteen
(sixteen)But you're my teenage
queen (you're my queen)You're the prettiest,
loveliest girl I've ever seen (I've ever seen) (OH!)Sixteen candles in my
heart will glowFor ever and ever for I
love you so (for I love you so)You're only sixteen
(sixteen)But you're my teenage
queen (you're my queen)Oh, you're the
prettiest, loveliest girl I've ever seen (I've ever
seen) (OH!)Sixteen candles in my
heart will glowFor ever and ever for I
love you so (for I love you so) For I love you so!!!
