Appreciating The Small

By Ketou Keditsu Murthy, Gangtok, Sikkim, India

Scripture reading

• 1 Kings 19:9-18
• Mark 10:13-16
• Mark 4:30-32

Have you ever gotten up from your sleep thinking of so many things you have to do with the start of your day? If you are like me, you have set a certain way of living your daily life and may always be meticulously planning how you can get your chores done. You are in a hurry most of the time or rush to get your life going. And, oh yes, if you are also a mother like me with young kids, some days can be wild and crazy. All you are looking forward to in life at this point is to get some rest and peace of mind after a long tiring day! How often we have missed out on the small things that really make life meaningful. 

I want to share a personal experience that really helped me seven years ago after I just gave birth to my first child. I was so exhausted and new to this phase of life. The pressure to be a good mother, a giving wife, serving and working at the same time was extremely difficult for me. The sleepless nights, as every young parent can relate to, and the expectations were sometimes unreal. Days passed and I was so consumed in my self pity party. One morning I just looked at myself thoroughly in the mirror and noticed a dull look and that something was terribly missing on my face. I realised that I had forgotten to smile for so many days. I looked at myself again once more and just smiled a little bit. It was hard for me to really smile from my heart at that moment. But I did notice that the slight smile does make me look a little better and brighter. I took a long breath and closed my eyes, thought about the miracle of having my baby in my arms, my husband who loves GOD, my family and most of all Jesus who gave His life for me. The fact that I am alive and able to have a relationship with God has helped me to have the most pleasant smile on my face. That one smile of joy entirely changed my whole outlook. I looked fresh, alive and revived.

What I just wanted to share is small and simple. There are many things in life that can distract you from finding the true joy in your life. However, if you look around you intentionally, you’ll be able to find so many things you can appreciate about this life you have. The very air that you are breathing, the child you are holding, the roof above your head, the meal served on your table, the beauty you see in nature, the friends and family who love you. Don’t wait for something big to happen to appreciate it.

Beautiful things come in small packages. My life changed drastically when I learned to appreciate the small. It has helped me to become more grateful and even identify the way God speaks to me daily in different ways and at different times.

I don’t know what you are going through in life right now, but I hope and pray that you will continue to discover and appreciate the small things around you, and make a beautiful difference. The world has enough things to distract us. Let's make time to look inside and around us and appreciate all the goodness of God.

Questions for Reflection

1. When was the last time you remember appreciating something small?
2. Do you consider only big achievements as worth appreciating?

Today I will

• Write 5 things you appreciate the most.
• Appreciate the blessings in your life and go out and encourage someone today. (Maybe a phone call, text message, dinner this week? Lunch?)
• Cultivate the attitude of appreciating the small.

About the Author

Ketou Keditsu Murthy was baptized in 2010 in the New Delhi Church as a campus student. She joined the full-time ministry in 2012 and married her husband, Shiva Murthy, in 2015. They have two kids: Adora (7)  and Noah (2). They moved to Sikkim, India in 2019 to lead the mission planting and currently reside in Gangtok, Sikkim.