Footprints in
the Sand
The Barnyard
Duck
A flock of
wild ducks were flying in formation,
heading south for the winter. They formed a beautiful V in the sky, and were
admired by everyone who saw them from below..
One day, Wally,
one of the wild ducks in the formation, spotted something on the ground that
caught his eye. It was a barnyard with a flock of tame ducks who lived on the
farm. They were waddling around on the
ground, quacking merrily and eating corn that was thrown on the ground for them
every day.
Wally liked what
he saw. ”It sure would be nice to have some of that corn,” he thought to
himself. ”And all this flying is very tiring. I’d like to just waddle around
for a while.”
So after
thinking it over a while, Wally left the formation of wild ducks, made a sharp
dive to the left, and headed for the barnyard. He landed among the tame ducks,
and began to waddle around and quack merrily. He also started eating corn. The
formation of wild ducks continued their journey South, but Wally didn’t care.
”I’ll rejoin them when they come back North in a few months, he said to
himself.
Several months
went by and sure enough, Wally looked up and spotted the flock of wild ducks in
formation, heading north. They looked beautiful up there. And Wally was tired
of the barnyard. It was muddy and everywhere he waddled, nothing but duck doo.
”It’s time to leave,” said Wally.
So Wally flapped
his wings furiously and tried to get airborne. But he had gained some weight
from all his corn-eating, and he hadn’t exercised his wings much either. He
finally got off the ground, but he was flying too low and slammed into the side
of the barn. He fell to the ground with
a thud and said to himself, ”Oh, well, I’ll just wait until they fly south in a
few months. Then I’ll rejoin them and become a wild duck again.”
But when the
flock flew overhead once more, Wally again tried to lift himself out of the
barnyard. He simply didn’t have the strength. Every winter and every spring, he
saw his wild duck friends flying overhead, and they would call out to him. But his attempts to leave were all in vain.
Eventually Wally no longer paid any attention to the wild ducks flying
overhead. He hardly even noticed them. He had, after all, become a barnyard
duck.
Look what happened
to Wally. He thought he would just ”check-it-out” for awhile and then leave
when he wanted to. But he couldn’t do it. Sin and bad habits are like that. It
is a trap, and it has a way of changing us into people we don’t even want to
become. Eventually we lose touch with who we really are
. We become barnyard ducks.
The Butterfly:
There was once a
newborn butterfly at rest, basking on a flower on a bright warm sunny day. A
young boy passing by noticed the beauty of this young butterfly. An ecstatic
desire to catch it welled up in him as thoughts of showing it to his playmates
would be a proud super deal indeed. With these thoughts prevailing, he
exhausted all efforts to grasp the butterfly as it escaped him. The butterfly, in startled panic flew up and
away and became entangled in a large abandoned cobweb.
Fear overwhelmed
him into a state of emotional collapse. He imagined that the cobweb might
become his death bed if he could not escape it. In addition the fear that the
young boy might catch him would guarantee the end of him as well.
A mature
butterfly of the same species flying in the same area, noticed the plight of
the young butterfly and settled down beside it. He spoke to it as follows:
”I see you have
become entangled pretty well in this old cobweb. I am going to help you free
yourself from it. So please listen. Calm down and trust me as I am older than
you and I have encountered many a cobweb myself.
First--the
cobweb is of no threat to you as the resident spider has moved away and
abandoned it.
Second--the
young boy that tried to catch you is now playing in the meadow up ahead with
his pals. The boy and his friends had planned to meet in the meadow area where
they frequently play.
Third--the boy
meant no harm. He simply wanted to show you to his pals, then let you go.
Fourth--I notice
you understand what I am saying and that you are nicely calmed. This pleases
me. To free yourself apply a steady pressure on the cobweb and continue until
the strands break enough to let you go.”
These are your
lessons to learn if and when you encounter cobwebs throughout your life.
One - Do not
allow minor disappointments to compound into major distresses.
Two - Rushing to
premature opinions could be dangerous to your emotions.
Three - Remember
that skies are at their most beautiful after a storm has passed.
Fourth - Storms
of all categories do not last very long at their worst.
Five -
Recovering from despair is accomplished by taking small steps in the right direction.
Six - Finally,
dedicate yourself to enjoy the clear skies of life. Welcome their warmth and
comfort because they are in the embrace of God, who created all living things.
