Here is the house in Gulfport, MS, we were gutting this week, 4 weeks after hurricane Katrina. You can see the mold all over the drywall up to the water line at about 5 feet.
This was after we were done ripping out all the walls and flooring so it could dry out. There were many homes not being gutted that will only get worse as time goes on.
Sunset on the Gulfport coast.
A unique "sculpture" left by Katrina.
In our team meeting we discussed how we can easily tend to think how small the work we do is compared to the enormity of the situation – it’s just a speck in the universe of the Gulf Coast. However, we must remember all that matters is that we make an impact on one person’s life to make it worthwhile, and it’s very clear we’ve made a positive difference in many lives. Similar to the following story I was reminded of last night:
The story, told countless times with various changes of characters, is originally from the book "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eisley (1907-1977).
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!"
The boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, "It made a difference to that one."
The people here are starfish thrown up onto the beach by a terrible storm. We need to pick them up and throw them back into the water. We are making a difference, however small it may appear at the time. We also brought up how this event has brought out the best in the body of Christ. The Church is at work and shining as well as it ever has in recent times. It is telling to see more vehicles from church organizations than from relief agencies. The question will be how long can we keep it up? The starfish are innumerable and it will take a lot to throw them back in the water.
This was after we were done ripping out all the walls and flooring so it could dry out. There were many homes not being gutted that will only get worse as time goes on.
Sunset on the Gulfport coast.
A unique "sculpture" left by Katrina.
In our team meeting we discussed how we can easily tend to think how small the work we do is compared to the enormity of the situation – it’s just a speck in the universe of the Gulf Coast. However, we must remember all that matters is that we make an impact on one person’s life to make it worthwhile, and it’s very clear we’ve made a positive difference in many lives. Similar to the following story I was reminded of last night:
The story, told countless times with various changes of characters, is originally from the book "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eisley (1907-1977).
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!"
The boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, "It made a difference to that one."
The people here are starfish thrown up onto the beach by a terrible storm. We need to pick them up and throw them back into the water. We are making a difference, however small it may appear at the time. We also brought up how this event has brought out the best in the body of Christ. The Church is at work and shining as well as it ever has in recent times. It is telling to see more vehicles from church organizations than from relief agencies. The question will be how long can we keep it up? The starfish are innumerable and it will take a lot to throw them back in the water.
posted by Michael Ray at 2:37 PM
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