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Al's Outreach Outtakes
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May 1, 2021A couple of weeks ago I was reminded of the importance of helping one person, one family at a time. I have written about this on more than one occasion and remind myself of it regularly. One of my favorite stories that carries this theme is as follows:
Once upon a time there was an elderly wise man walking on the beach when he came upon a young man reaching down , picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He asked the young man,
“What is it that you are doing?”
The young man paused, looked up and replied,
“Throwing starfish into the ocean.”
“Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean” asked the startled wise man.
“Because the sun is up and the tide is out” the young man replied. “If I don’t throw them in they will die.”
Upon hearing this the wise man commented,
“Young man, do you not realize there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, threw it into the ocean and said,
“I made a difference with that one.”
I know that trying to make a difference can feel overwhelming. I feel that way often and when I do I think of this story and remind myself, one at a time does make a difference.
Recently I witnessed such an effort by one of our parishioners. A very generous, unselfish act that directly impacted one individual in such a big way. You know who you are and I thank you for it. Your actions forever changed this persons life in such a positive and meaningful way.
Individual acts of support matter; group acts of support matter; big acts and little acts, they all matter. It is so easy to be the elderly wise man and to see all of the challenges associated with making a difference in the world. It is far more difficult to be the young man who sees things differently. Go ahead, pick up that starfish and throw it back. I DARE YOU!
GO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!