The Starfish Story

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 thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to 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 is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "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 starfish all along every mile? You can't possible make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said,"It made a difference for that one."

Matt and I have officially begun our journey into adoption! Our family is in the beginning stages of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. I mailed our adoption application on Monday, January 25th. The kids had off of school that day and we stopped by the post office before heading down to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Andrew took this picture of me with the envelope in hand. It was a wonderful feeling placing that envelope into the mailbox! An overwhelming feeling of excitement rushed through me. As I got back into the car, we said a prayer and went on our way. When we arrived at the museum we couldn't believe how many artifacts and displays there were of Africa. It had been a few years since we had been there and it was fun for us to look at all of this and think that our child would come from this amazing continent. There were also articles and information specific to Ethiopia. What perfect timing!

When we got home that day, I learned that about the same time that I was mailing my envelope an Ethiopian Airlines plane had crashed killing everyone on board. As I thought about the victims I wondered, too, if this would be one of the many events that would instill a sense of fear in me. Would Matt and I be flying this airline to go pick up our daughter someday? Was this a "sign" that we weren't supposed to be doing this. Thankfully that thought only entertained my brain for one second. I have full confidence that this is what God has called us to do. One of my dear friends told me about a book that Matt and I have both loved! The title is In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day - How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars by Mark Batterson. It is a wonderful and timely book for us. One of the verses that was included in the beginning stood out to me. It is from 1st John 4:18 - There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. I will cling to this verse as I experience those moments of fear.