Starfish

I went out to visit Lazaro again today. He is doing as well as can be expected considering he is a 4 year old who will never walk and possibly never talk or even feed himself. He is as healthy as he ever is and was cleaned and fed when we arrived.  His mother informed me that his father left, married a new woman and is refusing to come back so she is alone caring for 12 children, three of whom are physically and mentally handicapped. She says there is  no food and none of the kids can go to school. When I look at this family in the midst of the whole picture of struggling families in Uganda, all those hungry kids, all the physically and mentally handicapped, all the fathers that have abandoned women with the children they have sired....
I pray and try to remind myself why I'm here. I'm here to spread the love of God and the hope I have in Him. I like remembering this story that I heard years ago.

A gentleman was strolling along the beach just at the waters edge.

After he had walked for sometime he came upon several starfish that had been washed up on shore and then left behind by the tide. The man stopped and looked at the starfish a moment and then shook his head when he thought of the fate of the starfish, for they would all surely die if left out of the water for long. He then continued his stroll along the waters edge. After he had walked a bit further he came upon a young boy. The boy was furiously picking up starfish that had been left by the tide and throwing them back into the sea. The man watched the boy for several moments, then spoke to him. "You can’t possibly save them all. So why bother ? It won’t matter."

The boy paused, a starfish in hand, and thought about the man’s words. He looked out at the sea and then down at the starfish in his grasp. He looked up at the man and replied "Well, it matters to this one." and he threw the starfish back into the sea.

 Maybe you too are feeling overwhelmed. What can you do today that will matter to one?