The Guiding Light

 

The problem with stories I heard as a child is that they  somehow wanted us to learn something from them.  They were preaching without sounding preachy. It rarely worked.  I’ll give you an example.

A farmer always tossed bird seeds out for the birds.  He enjoyed doing it and it cost him almost nothing, so he made sure to do it every day. It was something he enjoyed.  

One day his little radio in the kitchen reported that a severe winter storm was coming, and would dump several feet of snow when it did.  The farmer worried that the little birds would freeze to death unless he did something. 

The day before the big storm was to arrive, he set up a light in his barn, spread lots of straw and propped the barn door open just a little.  Then he sprinkled the bird seeds around.  That should do it, he thought to himself.

That night, just as predicted, the winter storm blew in with its freezing temperatures and lots of snow.  As he looked out of his kitchen window, he could see the barn door was still open and the light was still on.  He felt good about his plan. 

In the morning all was calm again.  The wind had stopped and the sun was out.  It was still very cold out but not too bad.  He went outside to shut off the light and close the barn door.  He was sad to see that several small birds lay frozen on the snow.  No matter what he had done to help them, they just didn’t see the light.

I’m sorry, but I haven’t carried that story around with me for years, seeing it as some religious parable.  All I’ve ever had stuck in my mind are those poor dead birds laying on the white snow, and it makes me sad.  How could anyone walk away from that story feeling good?

It's going to be a long time before I trust preachers again.  They’re just bad news.