Favorite – Community of Christ

The Starfish Story

Kathy Onan — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 19:37:08 +0000

Original Story by: Loren Eisley

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.

Then, smiling at the man, he said…..“I made a difference for that one.”

This is another one of my favorite stories! We all do appreciate the mountaintop experiences, when we feel God has touched our hearts in some way. What this story says to me is that it isn’t just the mountaintop experiences that matter. Every little thing you do each day…saving one starfish, making one call to a lonely person, sending a card to brighten someone’s day… All of these matter just as much! Praying for those in need of healing of any kind is the most amazing thing we can do!

The Oyster Poem

Kathy Onan — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 20:04:12 +0000

There once was an oyster
Whose story I tell,
Who found that some sand
Had got into his shell.

It was only a grain,
but it gave him great pain.
For oysters have feelings
Although they’re quite plain.

Now, did he berate
the harsh workings of fate
That had brought him
To such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government,
Cry for election,
And claim that the sea should
Have given him protection?

‘No,’ he said to himself
As he lay in his shell,
Since I cannot remove it,
I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around,
As the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate
Destiny stew.

And the small grain of sand
That had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl
All richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral,
for isn’t it grand
What an oyster can do
With a morsel of sand?

What couldn’t we do
If we’d only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin.

This is one of my favorite poems. It shows us that we are the ones with the choices to make. We can let something get under our skin and cause problems or we can choose prayer as an avenue of remedy. Prayer and that relationship with God are so very important. Responsible Choices is one of our enduring principals.