Starfish

One night, on a sandy beach, a terrible storm started. It rained. The wind blew so hard that it shook the houses along the beach.

The next morning was foggy and gloomy. Many starfish had washed up on the beach. A man named Buck walked out on the beach to look around. Peering into the mist he saw a young man walking along the beach. He was tall and slender. Buck saw him throwing starfish back into the ocean

Buck walked up to the young man and said, "Why are you throwing those starfish back into the ocean? They'll just wash back up on the beach again. It doesn't matter."

Without a word the young man bent over, picked up a starfish, and threw it with all his might. It went way out in the ocean. The young man turned to Buck and said, "It mattered to that one."

I know this poem is kind of corny, but working in youth ministry I HAVE to come back to it often. Sometimes there is SO MUCH going on with my students that it seems IMPOSSIBLE to help them. That's when I remember this corny story about the starfish and it motivates me to keep plugging along and keep making a difference.

You would be shocked at what Corey, John and I deal with every week with our Lifeline kids. Whatever you can imagine, just multiply it by about 100 and that might give you an idea what our kids here in our church (not in some big city like Chicago) are dealing with. The job is too big for just a full time youth director and 2 part time people. It is impossible.

But I know that my God is bigger than all that.

So when I'm knee deep in the "water" trying to pick up just one or two little starfish and get them back to safety - I know that God is telling me "it mattered to that one, and it matters to me".