IDareToHope

Today was another glorious weather day. Shorts and t-shirt weather, which is rare in Nome due to windchill. I went to music practice for church tomorrow, came home and got some things done around the house and went to the beach late, around 8:30pm.

I found a starfish today, that was still alive! But it had washed up and likely wouldn’t have lasted much longer. I’m a wuss, so I found a piece of drift wood to pitch it back into the ocean. I didnt take a photo of it, because I was too busy saving its little salty life.

There is a story that people like to tell as a “feel good” story. It’s about two people that came across a beach covered in starfish that were slowly drying/dying out in the sun. One person picked up a starfish and threw it back into the water. The other asked, “why bother? There are too many to even make a difference.” The first person answered, as they tossed another into the water, “it made a difference for that one.”

Sometimes my job feels so overwhelming. It is never done. There are always things that will have to “wait until tomorrow.” And sometimes life itself seems so daunting… how do I live an effective Christian Life? How do I go out and reach “the lost people?” How do I “do great things for God?”

It’s easy to be overwhelmed in the grand scheme of things, and wonder how my minuscule life can make a difference. But I can choose the next right thing. I can help the young woman on the phone right now, the next elder that asks about medications, the next parent that calls in with questions about follow up for their child’s broken arm. I can choose the next words that come out my mouth, my reaction to unkind things said against me, and my response to someone asking for prayer.

I’d like to think that though I am young, single, a fairly immature believer, an everyday struggler, there is One that is so much greater than I, and I get to walk alongside Him, throwing the starfish back in, one by one.

Ask Jesus for courage to do the next right thing. And someday you’ll look back to see the path which He led you on pointed straight to Him.