The Brick - By Michel Quoist

The bricklayer laid a brick on a bed of cement.
Then, with a precise stroke of his trowel spread another layer
And without a by-your-leave, laid on another brick.
The foundations grew visibly,
The building rose, tall and strong, to shelter men.

I thought, Lord, of that brick buried in the darkness at the base of the big building.
No one sees it, but it accomplishes its task, and the other bricks need it.
Lord, what difference whether I am on the roof-top or on the foundations of your building,
As long as I stand faithfully at the right place?

VITAL DIFFERENCE

An old man, walking on the beach at dawn noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up with the youth, he asked what he was doing. "The starfish will die if they are still on the beach when the sun toasts them with its mid-morning heat" came the answer.
"But the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish", countered the old man. "How can your efforts make any difference?"

The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. "It makes a difference to this one", he said.