The Call of the Barnyard
(Unknown Author)
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 barn yard.
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 this way 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 barn yard.
It was muddy 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 barn yard. He simply didn't have the strength. Every Winter and every Spring, he saw
his wild duck friends flying over head, 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.
Sometimes we get tired of being wild ducks . . . followers of Jesus Christ. It's not
always easy to be obedient to God and to discipline ourselves to hang in there for the
long haul. When we are feeling that way, that's when Satan tempts us to "fall out of
formation" and to join the barnyard ducks . . . the world . . .
But see what happened to Wally. He thought he would just "check it out" for
a while and then leave when he wanted to. But he couldn't do it. Sin is like that. Sin is
a trap, and it has a way of changing us into people we don't even want to become.
Eventually, we loose touch with whom we really are . . . the sons and daughters of The
Most High; We become barnyard ducks.
Geese Provide Lessons In Life!
*As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an 'uplift' for the birds following it. By
flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% more flying range than if
each bird flew alone.
The Lesson: People who share both common direction and sense of community can get
where they are going quicker and easier when they travel on the thrust of one another.
*Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of
trying to fly alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the
'lifting power' of the bird immediately in front.
The Lesson: Stay with those who are heading in the right direction.
*When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose
flies at the point position.
The Lesson: Take turns with the hard tasks and share leadership with each other!
*The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their
speed.
The Lesson: Be an encourager to those in front!
*When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and
follow him down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly
or dies. Then they launch out on their own, with another formation or to catch up with the
flock.
The Lesson: Support and stand by
one another!
<3 <3
<3 <3
<3 <3
<3 <3
<3 <3
Children will not always do
what they're told,
but they will do
what they see!
"Be an example to them of good deeds of
every kind.
Let everything you do reflect your love of the truth."
Titus 2:7 (TLB)
<3 <3
<3 <3
<3 <3
<3 <3
<3 <3
When passing this item on to others, please include the
following information:
Thank you!
