Saturday was a double bonus - a gorgeous sunny day with low tide around 1 pm. So of course I headed to the tide pools! There were so many starfish. A mom and daughter were counting and had seen over 50. These orange ones are the most common. I was sad when I first saw this particular one - it was kind of wadded up on a seaweed-covered rock, out of the water. I was pretty sure it was dead. But I picked it up and put it in the water, and like magic it unfurled and began to move. Only then did I notice it was missing a limb. You can see the tiny beginnings of the new one growing.
I don't know what happened to this creature, what wounded it, how it was stranded. I honestly don't even know that it needed my help. It could be that when the tide came back in it would have been fine. But I would have missed the surprise, the wonder at this creature's resilience.
It has me thinking about how we treat people. When we see suffering, we too often make assumptions about what happened, and quietly judge. We may think someone brought trouble on themselves, or is too wounded to recover, or that we are powerless to help. These judgments are unhelpful. They are our way of justifying inaction. My prayer is that even if the help I have to offer seems inadequate, I recognize that there is always something I can do. Even if it is as simple as offering a drink of water.
"‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’" (Matthew 25:37-40)