Once upon a time …

A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.

She had been doing this for some time when a villager approached her and asked, “Why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”

The girl paused, deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the villager and replied,

“Well, I made a difference for that one!”

The villager took in what she had said, inspired, he joined her in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were rescued. 

Has someone made a difference in your life? Given you warmth or encouragement when you most needed it? A starfish is a perfect gift for that special person.