St. George and His Village

Once upon a time, there was a knight living in a large kingdom.  His castle was very grand and surrounding his great castle, was a small village.  The people there were very content because George, the knight, was very brave and protected them from all the dangers of the world.  He was such a well-known, brave knight that no evil even dared to enter the village gates.  Because he was so noble and great, everyone called him Saint George, to honor him.

But, Saint George was not content.  He wanted to be where the action was.  He wanted to do the work of a knight.  “Somewhere out there,” he said to himself, “are villages in great need. There are families that have been stripped from their homes and fair maidens in danger. Who knows, there might even be some dragons still out and about.”

One day, noble George decided to saddle up his dark brown thoroughbred and take a ride throughout his village to look for any danger.  People waved to him and smiled as he rode by.  But, as hard as he searched, he could find no evil lurking in any of the shadows.  The grass was still green and the people still happy.  “Everyone is safe. These people do not need me anymore.”

That night while in his sleeping chamber, George thought long and hard about what to do.  Finally, he concluded that he needed to go out farther.  “Even though these people do not need me anymore, I’m sure there’s someone else out there that does.” So early the next morning, he readied his horse again, and with his sword and a bag of food at his side, he started off on his journey.

He kept riding north until a day later, he arrived upon a tiny village.  The houses were all bare and empty, but he heard weeping coming from the center of the town.  “Maybe I can help them!” He thought.  The knight rode up and all heads turned towards him.  He placed the most grave, noble expression on his face as he could.  He bellowed out, “What has happened here?”

A beautiful young girl with long hair flowing almost to her waist rushed up to him. “Oh, kind sir! Our neighbor village a day’s journey south of here has perished completely. A large army entered it and completely took over. They killed the women and children and took the men as hostages. Every building has been burned all because their protector left them.”

            St. George’s face went white.  He swallowed hard.  A day’s journey south of here.  It couldn’t be his village, could it?  How would they even get the news so fast if it were his?

“How did you get news of this disaster so quickly?”

            The young woman shrugged. “I communicate with all animals of the woods. The birds flew quickly and told me of what had happened because my cousins lived in that town.”

            “What was the village called?” St. George reached up with his gloved hand and wiped the sweat away from his brow.  This would determine it all.

            “It was called Torjanville. None of this would have happened if the brave knight that protected them hadn’t left early that morning on a frivolous journey!” The lady hurried off, weeping into her palms.

            The man’s eyes widened.  His village had been looted and destroyed.  The one he had watched over and loved.  Saint George turned as fast as he could and rode the horse all the way back to his village.  What the young woman had said was true.  Smoke filled the air and George coughed all the way through.  He saw dead bodies lying in the streets – most of them women and children.  The strong man cried over the loss of his village.

            “If only I had stayed where my responsibility lay. I was foolish to run off looking for action when these precious people couldn’t have survived without me.”

*****

            God had placed Saint George in that village for a specific reason.  There was no way he could have known that an army was ready to attack the minute he left, but he could have at least acknowledged that he was meant to remain there to protect the people.

            Are you anxious to leave the place where God has placed you?  Do you want to be where all the action is because you think the Christian life is boring?  Well, God has placed you there for a reason.  He wants you to “go, therefore, and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19).  God wants you to be a light to His lost sheep everywhere.  If that means your school, so be it.  If that means your neighborhood or even your own household, so be it.  GO.  God has put you in your town and in your group of friends for a reason.  Don’t be anxious to leave like Saint George because God can and will use you!  

            The reason I chose to share this story is because for school, we’ve been reading a book called The Book of Virtues for Young People.  On pages 87-90, there was a short story titled “St. George and the Dragon.”  It was supposed to have to do with the character trait – responsibility.  But, I tweaked it a lot because I think this one explains responsibility much better than the other story.  It is a completely different story with the same idea and the same characters.  That is why I was inspired to write this.  It is a good lesson for all of us.

Also, please check out author, Kayla Woodhouse's, blog: http://kimandkaylawoodhouse.com/kaylas-blog/ on Thursday, November 12.  I will have a guest blog post on there and I would love for ya'll to read it!
Whatever you do this week, remember that God loves you no matter what! 

The Short Story:

Esenwein, J. Burg, and Maria Stockard. “St. George and the Dragon.” New York: Simon &

Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, 1997. Print.

The Book Featuring the Short Story:

Bennet, William J. The Book of Virtues for Young People. New York: Simon & Schuster

Children’s Publishing Division, 1997. Print