Welcome to my blog!

I think God has a sense of humor. My most recent position has been directing an after school program located in a Presbyterian church that was once an old Pentecostal church, and therefore, has a baptismal. Turns out the possums set up residence in the baptismal... along with their tag-a-long fleas. There's nothing like fighting an army of fleas for weeks on end to keep a person humble. Just a small reminder that all the planning in the world doesn't do much good if there are possums in the baptismal. So, I could have tried to come up with a super-spiritual title for this blog... something deep and profound. However, I think the theme of my life is that nothing ever turns out the way I thought it would. There are possums and fleas along the way... but part of the treasure is in the journey through the unexpected and unplanned challenges. For it is there that I find God's power made perfect in my weakness. It is there that I find Him.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Out of the mouths of babes...

Three years ago, a missionary to East Asia came to speak at my church.  As he spoke of his work in rescuing orphans, he shared the "Starfish Story" that goes a little bit like this:


The Starfish Story

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."

Afterward, the man gave each of us a beautiful glass star necklace made by the nationals in his country.  I wore it with pride the next day to the low-income school where I was teaching.  My third graders immediately recognized the beautiful necklace and asked about it.  I shared the story with them and let them know that they were my starfish.  I told them they mattered to me. 

Now, I'm running an after school program where several of my students from school attend.   Three years later, Kris still remembers that starfish necklace.  Yesterday, he asked me to wear it again.

So, today I wore my beautiful starfish necklace.  Before we began the day, I looked in the faces of 28 children and told them the Starfish Story.  However, I stopped after the comment of the cynical man, "You can't make a difference!" Before finishing the story, I asked, "what would you have said to that man?"  Several children offered their words, but one in particular captured my heart.  Six year old Chandlor said, "I would ask him to help me."  

Wow, if that doesn't convict a heart, I don't know what does.  This child, with such a pure heart, has wisdom beyond his years.  I couldn't have said it better myself.
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