I found this at the beach.

The Enemy of the Best is the Good

From the video clip ‘Shells’ by Rob Bell (http://flannel.org/)

I was at the beach one day with my family walking along the ocean.

My boys were running around ahead of us and they were finding all of these fragments and pieces of shells on the beach… amazing in their complexity and design but not real shells… almost like a lot of tiny little ‘shell shrapnel.’

Suddenly, floating in the water offshore about 30 feet is a HUGE starfish just bobbing their peacefully.

One of my boys sees the starfish and there is a look in his eyes like, ‘that starfish is mine!’

So he goes charging into the water to go pick it up… but then stops half way and turns and runs back onto the beach.

We keep saying, ‘That’s your starfish… go get it!’

So he runs out and stops about halfway again and runs back to the beach looking even more frustrated and anxious.

He tries a third time… same thing… now, he looks extremely upset and agitated.

So, we say, ‘What’s the problem? Why can’t you get the starfish?’

He says, ‘I can’t do it… because my hands are filled with shells.’

Is this you? So busy doing so much that your hands are filled with shells? Some if it may be good but you can’t grab hold of the starfish.

May you drop your shells in the pursuit of a simple, disciplined, focused life in which you pursue the few things God has for you.

Can you say NO because you have already said YES?

What is your Starfish?  What ‘shells in your hands’ do you need to put aside to go after it?