Starfish

I have had some weird things on my mind lately, some completely out of the blue. I have wanted to get a necklace, something simple that I would wear all the time. More recently I wanted to get something that would remind me of home while away next year, something sentimental you could say. It seems silly but there is a starfish necklace I have really liked for a while and the thing that surprises me is it is from Tiffany's. I have seriously never even been inside a Tiffany's store so I'm not sure why I'm so attracted to it, but I just love it. My thinking was starfish=beach (my favorite place to be) why not?? I would never post this as it seems ridiculous...until today. I was reading some blogs from the people serving on the ship on came across the starfish story. The author is unknown (even after a google search) but it spoke to me in an unbelievable way. A year ago I looked at the prospect of one person changing the world as unlikely at best. What can one really person accomplish? Needless to say my opinion has completly changed after seeing just how much one person can do, and what it looks like when one person starts to act rather than sit back and think hopelessly about our world and all of the chaos and confusion that consumes it. The numbers for people living in poverty are disgusting, they literally make my stomach turn. What if instead of looking at the numbers in need we start to look at the numbers of people who have been helped by the actions of others? If just one life is saved, just ONE, isn't it worth it to go out and act? Shouldn't that be enough motivation to go out and serve? Here's the story...

While walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young girl, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water.
He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young girl paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”
The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”
To this, the young girl 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 elderly observer commented, “But, young girl, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young girl listened politely. Then she bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it into the back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

The necklace does not have to be from Tiffany's (I would like to keep my record of staying out of that store going strong actually) but I think my idea for a starfish necklace will actually hold more meaning to me now. I never want to look at being a missionary as a hopeless task, rather as a way to make a difference to every individual I come in contact with. Afterall, it makes a difference to them.