Sometimes the news, or events in our lives or those of people we love can leave us feeling helpless.  In the last couple of weeks I've had a few of those moments, but each time I've recalled the parable of the starfish and the song about the drops in a bucket...

One morning an elderly man was walking on a nearly deserted beach. He came upon a boy surrounded by thousands and thousands of starfish. As eagerly as he could, the youngster was picking them up and throwing them back into the ocean.

Puzzled, the older man looked at the young boy and asked, "Little boy, what are you doing?"

The youth responded without looking up, "I'm trying to save these starfish, sir."

The old man chuckled aloud, and queried, "Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?"

Holding a starfish in his hand, the boy turned to the man and, gently tossing the starfish into the water, said, "It will make a difference to that one!"

The song is an old Cliff Richard song 'Love and a Helping Hand' (if you read the lyrics on You-tube you will notice that 'pious' has been completely mis-spelled)

It comes under Annie's definition of supercheesybuttrue

One star fish at a time, one drop in a bucket, one mustard seed planted in a garden, one tiny bit of yeast in a batch of dough, a pinch of salt in a world of pain...

(If you follow the Jesus model, you don't, as a rule, exposit parables...)