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Saturday, July 21, 2012

ONE

ONE.

I am ONE.
I am only ONE person. 
but that's all it takes - ONE.

ONE - created the moon and the stars.
ONE - breathed life into man.
ONE - laid down His life for you and me.
ONE - loved me first.
ONE - will come back ONEday.


I have recently been reminded of the starfish story:

  A young girl was walking along the beach when she noticed thousands and thousands of starfish washed up on the sand. She noticed that the sun was coming up and the tide was going out, and she knew that if she didn't do something all the starfish would die.  So she began picking them up and throwing them back in the ocean.
An older man saw the girl and wondered what she was doing, so he asked, "What are you doing?"
and the girl replied, "The sun is coming up and the tide is going out and if I don't do something all of these starfish will die."
"But sweetie," the old man replied, "Can't you see? There are miles and miles of beach and thousands and thousands of starfish. You cannot possibly make a difference!" 
The young girl, crushed and defeated, thought for a moment. Then she bent down, picked up a starfish, and threw it back in the ocean. "I made a difference to that ONE."


The concept of ONE has been on my heart and mind a lot lately.

I heard this story while I was in Kenya and it really impacted the way I thought. At the time, I felt like I hadn't made a very big difference.  But once I heard this, I realized a few things:

  1. NUMBERS don't matter. 
  2. HOW doesn't matter.
  3. WHO doesn't matter.
It didn't matter if I reached ONE person or ONE thousand people.
It didn't matter if I reached them playing soccer, singing a song, or talking for two hours.
And it didn't matter if I reached the kids at the orphanage, the people in the community, or the people on my team.

ONE person can make a difference. 
I can make a difference. 
I must make a difference. 
I must be ONE. 
I am ONE. 
I am ONE to make a difference. 
I am ONE to help.
I am ONE to show and share.
I am ONE to love. 
I AM ONE, so I must go out to the other ONES: I cannot just sit along the shore while some are washing up, drying out, and dying, and others are drifting out to sea, struggling, and sinking. 


What mattered was the fact that I reached. I was helping. I was playing. I was singing. I was sharing. I was loving.
...I was throwing starfish back into the ocean...I was making a difference, even if it was only to ONE.

Live life like you are the only ONE that can make a difference.
Help ONE person like they are the only person out there to help.
Tell others about THE ONLY ONE that can truly save.

Be ONE.
Help ONE.
Tell others about THE ONE.
   

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