The Small Things

Kamitra Carr serves in an orphanage for children with disabilities in Ukraine. She shares the following story of a small thing providing great joy.

A couple of years ago, I bought a ukulele with the naïve thought that it would be easy to master. Well, that was not the case, but I thought the kids in the orphanage would enjoy listening to a few chords and playing with it themselves. The picture of Tonya above shows just a glimpse of that excitement as the teens passed around this small instrument of joy. Then, someone had the great idea to start doing the hula dance arm motions. It was so wonderful to sit around the small table, dancing and making beautiful noise. As far as I know, this is the first time these teens have held an instrument and played themselves. They were so proud of themselves and the fact that they could make music all on their own. Some of the teens even explored each string to find the different sounds they made. I'm convinced that most of them could definitely master the ukulele in the time I have attempted.

It never ceases to amaze me how God can take such small things we have to offer and multiply it in ways that we cannot even fathom. Just like the feeding of the 5,000 in the Gospels, God used this small Hawaiian guitar to multiply the joy in that room exponentially. He multiplies all that we give in His name, whether it is time, money, encouragement, or even a few strums on a ukulele.

2 Corinthians 9:10 says, “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteous." Not only are our gifts multiplied to have a bigger impact than we can imagine, but givers' blessing in giving is multiplied as well. I pray that you would experience that same joy of giving that I have.