“I am numb after this week.” This was the ominous text I received from my wife last Friday evening. I was miles away at Divine Mercy University helping with their spiritual direction residency. I felt guilty and torn that I was hearing her anguish via text.
Why the numbness? She works at the Department of Social Services in Hickory, NC. She answers the phone, gathers intake information, and redirects the call to someone with the right expertise. Because of the wreckage from Hurricane Helene, many of the offices to the West had no phone, internet, or power. Desperate people were calling any office they could to receive food assistance and other necessities. The volume of calls she was receiving, and the underlying heartache of each caller, were overwhelming.
With the devastation of this magnitude, it’s easy to become ‘numb’ and think, “This is too big a problem for me. Let the government, insurance companies, or the big non-profits handle it.” The reality is God intended us to make a difference, one person at a time. Jesus came to save the world but first met the needs of the people that crossed his path: a leper, prostitute, a demoniac, and a woman at a well, to name a few.
It’s a good time to revisit the well-known parable by Loren Eisley sometimes called “The Starfish Story”. It’s been embellished in various ways, but here is the original:
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.”
The photo is from my early morning walk on Hilton Head Island. I noticed dozens of starfish. Unlike the perfectly formed starfish that usually illustrate the starfish parable, the starfish in the picture are damaged, missing an appendage or two, and pale grey in the morning light. This probably better illustrates the people most affected by the hurricane. Not yet whole or in a good light, but surrounded by ‘difference makers’: neighbors close-by and strangers from afar. Deo Gratius.
Look for ways you can make a difference to the one person God puts in your path.