Starfish Thrower

adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley
1907 - 1977

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself as he the thought of someone who would dance to the day. The old man picked up his pace so he could catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "as he Threw another starfish into the ocean."

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are thousands of starfish all along every mile? Don't You realize that you can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man simply bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean and turned and said well it mattered to that one.

Often in life we look upon a task and see it as insurmountable.
It is in those moments we need to step back and pray to gain a vision of the big picture the Lord has for us.
The Lord works by small means to bring about great miracles.
The ant did not eat the elephant all in one sitting he did it one bite at a time.
If we are to accomplish the purposes the Lord has for us to do in this life we must not loose sight of the plain and precious truths of his gospel. For more information on the Lords plan see: http://mormon.org