It Makes a Difference

I recently discovered this little story and now it's one of my favorites: "One evening a squall on an ocean left the beach scattered with starfish. A child noticed this walking along and tried to return the starfish into the waves. A passerby remarked to the child of the impossibility of making a difference since there were countless starfish. The child looked thoughtfully at the starfish in his hand before returning it to the ocean and answered, "Well it makes a difference to this one."

Do you ever feel like what you try to do in your life just doesn't seem to matter? That nothing is bearing fruit? That efforts fall short? But even if you don't see it, efforts do bear fruit and everything you do matters. I heard a great sermon at Mass yesterday for the feast of the Holy Family, and the priest spoke a lot about merit--how when we make the choice to fulfill our daily duties well no matter how monotonous, we are storing up merit in Heaven. For the Holy Family lived a very simple life: Our Lady cooked, cleaned, sewed....St. Joseph worked, constructed, built...and Our Lord "was subject to them." He lived a hidden life, but such a rich life! Do you ever feel like those who appreciate a life detached from the world discover something so much deeper?

The story of the child and the starfish is how I feel about my writing and my shop. If I reach even just one person, touch one heart, help one soul, it is all worth it. What we do makes a difference. How do we know that a providential smile, glance, or word of encouragement, was not what one person needed to continue on in their struggles? You could be the person whose simple act of charity was the one that made someone turn to God or persevere to the end. Let us not think that because there is so much that can be done, that nothing can be done, but rather not miss any opportunities....since "it makes a difference to this one."