When is enough, enough? That’s a question I’ve contemplated for a long time.
As our family prepares for a deeply special journey back to our children’s birth country (more on that later), I was reminded of the story of the starfish. You may know the one…
A beach filled with thousands of starfish.
A young boy throwing them back into the ocean, one by one.
A wise old man asks, “Why are you throwing starfish back into the water?”
The boy replies, “The sun is up, and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
The old man responds, “But son, don’t you realize there are thousands upon thousands of starfish washed up along every mile of this beach? You can’t possibly make a difference.”
The boy listens politely. Then he bends down, gently picks up another starfish, and tosses it beyond the breaking waves.
“Sir,” he replies, “I made a difference to that one.”
As we travel this summer, I’m reminded that the greatest impact rarely comes from changing the whole world. More often, it comes from changing a moment for one person.
A smile. A conversation. A helping hand. A reminder that someone matters. It doesn’t need to be more than that. That is enough.
Sometimes, that’s actually everything.
If you're reading this, thank you for being part of this journey.
So I’ll leave you with this question:
What if the true measure of our lives isn’t what we’ve accumulated, achieved, or even - dare I say - how many connections, likes, followers we have on FB, but how many lives are better because at one point or another, we crossed their path?
How many starfish will you pick up this summer and throw back into the sea?