The Starfish Story
adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
The young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said,"I made a difference to that one!"
Point of story:
Young Man--- you
Starfish---those that you can influence, help, and minister to.
Old Man---The world telling you that you don't make a difference
You may think that you only have a small audience that you minister to. You may wonder if it is worth it. I believe that it is.
Moral of story: Help as many people as you can and realize that they will appreciate you for it. More importantly, God will be pleased.
Peace and love,
Rev. Mike
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never herar that story, very cool!
ReplyDeletehave a great week! :)
That is a cool story, and a very encouraging one for those who want to help people.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I heard that story was in the movie Holy Man starring Eddie Murphy and Jeff Goldblum. I thought that it was simple and yest the message was powerful! Every now and then stories like this remind me that nothing is too small to give if it helps someone.
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