Starfish

Legend of The Starfish

A vacationing businessman was walking along a beach when he saw a young boy.  Along the shore were many starfish that had been washed up by the tide and were sure to die before the tide returned.  The boy was walking slowly along the sore and occasionally reached down and tossed a beached starfish back into the ocean.  The businessman, hoping to teach the boy a little lesson in common sense, walked up to the boy and said, "I have been watching what you are doing, son.  You have a good heart, and I know you mean well, but do you realize how many beaches there are around here and how many starfish are dying on every beach every day?  Surely, such an industrious and kindhearted boy such as yourself could find something better to do with your time.  Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?"  The boy looked up at that man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his feet.  He picked up the starfish, and as he gently tossed it back into the ocean, he said, "It makes a difference to that one."

 ~ Anonymous / Oral Traditional  

I have had my own starfish moment. I have become aware of the staggering problem of children living in poverty. Malnutrition causes more than 55%  of the child deaths in our world. Children who are poorly nourished suffer up to 160 days of illness each year. Poor nutrition plays a role in more than half of the 10.9 million child deaths each year--five million deaths.  Undernutrition magnifies the effect of every disease, including measles and malaria. Statistics like these can overwhelm us. We become paralyzed by the sheer magnitude of the problem. Let me ask you, do you remember the  the shock and heartache you felt on 9/11, as you watched the World Trade Center  flame and collapse, taking three thousand innocent lives with it? Do you remember how we all sat glued to our TV's? Imagine if you will, that three hours later another catastrophe struck, at Disney World, imagine the coverage by CNN and FOX. What if as they were scrambling to cover that tragedy, that disaster struck at an NFL stadium and three thousand more people died. Then catastrophe struck the Denver airport. What if that same level of human tragedy continued to happen, every three hours, Tokyo, Rome, Moscow, London, Paris, Berlin. The world would shudder to a grinding halt. Yet 30,000 children under age five are taken from us everyday due to hunger. Yet where are the cameras, the round-the clock news coverage. Everyday, day after day, approximately 30,000 children die. Each of those children is loved by our Father, as much as He loves our own precious little ones.

Now, you and I can't save everyone of those children, anymore than that business man can save everyone of those  starfish, but we can make a difference to one child. In the coming weeks, I will be sharing with you my experience sponsoring a child through Compassion. If even one of you is moved to sponsor another child and change another life, then my words will not be in vain.