Pick up the Starfish

I have always loved the story of the little boy and the starfish but as a certified marine docent I would be remiss if I didn’t share that starfish are now known as sea stars.

In the story, a little boy is walking along a stretch of beach, and he sees all these stranded starfish. If they remain on the sand, they will dry up and die. The little boy picks one up and throws it into the ocean. An older man walks by and tells the little boy, “There are hundreds of starfish here young man! You won’t make a difference.”  The little boy proceeds to bend down, picks up another starfish, throws it into the ocean and calmly replies, “I made a difference to that one.”

Many years ago, my husband and I had the great privilege of being the recipients of a simple act of kindness that has had lifelong repercussions. We were like the starfish on the beach. Stranded and in need of help. We were young parents to our firstborn daughter, living in a very drafty apartment.  Beautiful wallpaper hid the fact that there was no real insulation in the walls. As we turned the thermostat higher to keep our baby warm, the fuel bills were rising far beyond our ability to pay. We knew we could not live in this apartment for another winter as it had taken all summer to pay off the overdue fuel bill. We began to search for a new apartment and found a wonderful three-bedroom apartment with heat and hot water included, off street parking and a little backyard for a simple swing set. The rent was set at a very reasonable price for the location. The landlord was a kindly World War Two veteran, who smoked a pipe and told amazing stories. I knew he liked us. Unfortunately, he had been taken advantage of by the previous tenants. They had left with rent unpaid and had also left behind ruined carpets, scratched paint, and piles of wet garbage. The landlord had invested a lot of time and money to put things back to rights and make the apartment as beautiful as it was when we walked in. 

The landlord required us to pay a security deposit, first month’s rent and last month’s rent, to cushion himself from future disaster. I don’t know if this is legal anymore. Heck, I don’t know if it was legal then. We really were desperate to get out of the drafty apartment, because winters in New England don’t care if you are young or old, rich or poor. We didn’t have a lump sum of cash like that to give him. We were frustrated and discouraged.  

My husband went to work and relayed our dilemma to a co-worker named Stevie Page. Stevie Page was a young man, humble, kind and hardworking. He saw our family stranded and “picked up our starfish.”   He offered to lend us the entire amount needed for the apartment and we could pay it back over time, no interest required. We said yes and lived in that apartment for seven years. In those seven years, we scrimped and saved and read books about finances. My husband worked overtime and I learned how to clip coupons and look for deals. We freed ourselves of all our debts and grew our family to three children in the process.

Stevie Page tossed our starfish back into the ocean when we were stranded, and we made sure to take steps to never land back on the shore again. Seven years later, we bought a home on the same street as the apartment. Shortly after blessing our new home, our sweet landlord went home to heaven.

A small act of kindness has made the MOST enormous difference. Our children have grown up in a home. We were stable enough to adopt our three grandchildren when it became necessary.

My husband grew up in foster care, never adopted, separated from his siblings his entire life. It means the world to him to keep his grandchildren together, as they should be. Building memories. Laughing with one another. Feeling safe. Feeling treasured. Learning about how much Jesus loves them.

Stevie Page embodied the scripture in Hebrews 13:16,

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

No one person can pick up all the starfish. You can make a difference to one. You never know how many generations you will touch.

Pick up the starfish.

*Dedicated with deepest gratitude to Stevie Page *

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