Someone recently shared a meme with me where, in the first picture, a younger man was seated in a chair with his young wife sitting in another chair next to him. They were both reading books and had big smiles on their faces. The caption under the picture read, “Enjoy the little things in life.” In the following image, the man is older, seated in a chair reading a book, and the chair next to him is empty. The caption under this picture reads, “Because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.”
In our messed-up world, it is easy to become calloused by all the pain, heartache, and devastation we encounter. The hurricanes, the wars, the illness and death of those dear to us can cause us to become discouraged about life and even about our preaching and ministry.
It might help us keep going if we can find the time and energy to focus on some of life’s little joys.
Serendipities such as a kind word from someone after we have preached our heart out, a picture of a drawing by a child, baptizing someone we have studied with, an encouraging text from a fellow preacher, a compliment from one of our shepherds, time spent with our wife, children, or grandchildren, a moment on the phone with a friend, seeing marriages strengthened through our ministry, and many other seemingly small joys, can all be tremendous blessings to our lives.
One day, we may look back at these seemingly small blessings of joy and realize they were the really biggest things in life. May God bless you this week with some of life’s little joys!
