SMALL THINGS

“A little thing is a little thing; but faithfulness in little things is a very great thing.” -from Kohila by Amy Carmichael

Do you have a special verse for your homeschool? One that reminds you that all this hard work, daily lessons, and strenuous housekeeping is for a greater purpose beyond what you can see? I cling to  Zechariah 4:10 which says, “Who dares despise the day of small things?” I have meditated and flipped this verse over so many times that I named my early Charlotte Mason seminars, “A Day of Small Things.”

The back story for this verse is that we find Zerubbabel returning to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity. He is tasked by God to rebuild the temple – an epic job! He begins but soon neighbors complain, supporters become discouraged, and the project comes to a screeching halt. Zerubbabel gave up. Then, along comes the prophet Zechariah, exhorting Zerubbabel to carry on, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” (Zech. 4:6) He continued, exhorting Zerubbabel to not “despise the day of small things” as God was with him at the beginning of this project and He will see it through, despite the shaky start. Sure enough, Zerubbabel did see the temple completed.

I like to think of all the daily, tedious, and ordinary activities in any given day as “small things.” Whether that is the meals to prepare, the habits to cultivate, or the lessons to teach, all of these are part of something not small at all, but something that is part of a much larger picture that we may not be able to understand or see the whole we are working towards. Charlotte Mason tells us, “Let us not despise the day of small things nor grow weary in well-doing.” (Vol. 3, p. 23) She knows, and she lets us know in small ways throughout her volumes.

Through small things is also how God works in our lives. Ignoring this is despising the Maker’s way. I love how C.H. Spurgeon puts it:

It is a very great folly to despise “the day of small things,” for it is usually God’s way to begin His great works with small things. We see it every day, for the first dawn of light is but feeble, and yet by and by, it grows into the full noontide heat and glory. We know how the early spring comes with its buds of promise, but it takes some time before we get to the beauties of summer or the wealth of autumn. How tiny is the seed that is sown in the garden, yet out of it there comes the lovely flower! How small is the acorn, but how great is the oak that grows up from it!

Just as Zerubbabel’s small foundation which he at first abandoned (relying on himself) then eventually returned to complete (relying on God), resulted in the temple, so should we depend on the Lord and be faithful in the little things. The daily narrating of books will someday make a good writer. The delay of lessons in order to meet the toddler’s needs may be teaching the older children about love and compassion for children everywhere. The beginning of each day with prayer and Scripture will develop a reverence for the Bible. The careful oversight of a few good habits will help the young adult to redeem the time. The reading of carefully chosen books will help instruct the conscience of that young person who will be a voice for the voiceless someday, and on and on.

Charlotte Mason, orphaned at 16 and in poor health, is an excellent example of tending to the day of small things. All she had was a few good friends and mentors to help her as she spent 20 long years teaching and observing the ultimate small things, children. Her commitment to them and her cooperation with the Holy Spirit burst forth into an educational movement that must have been beyond her dreams as a young woman; a movement that not only influenced all of England, but also thousands in the United States a century after her death! I am glad she did not despise the day of small things.

We should rejoice in our days of small things for it is from small things that great things eventually blossom. Even in handwriting? Charlotte Mason thinks so. In The Story of Charlotte Mason (p. 161) she says:

We know that every letter a child forms is a detriment or a gain to his character.  Every dawdling or diligent, every dull or bright, half-hour is not a thing by itself, but becomes part and parcel of the child, of the whole we are laboring to effect.

It’s the small, faithful things that change hearts and lives.  You may not be rebuilding the temple, but homeschooling and raising your children just might be the most important task you have on this earth – these precious persons that the Lord has entrusted you with in order that they may be fully alive and give Him the glory.

Teaching from peace,

Nancy

Works Cited:

Chomondeley, Essex, The Story of Charlotte Mason. Petersfield, Child Light Ltd., 2000. (p. 161)

Mason, C. (1989c). School Education. Charlotte Mason Research & Supply. (Original work published 1905).

Spurgeon, C. “Small Things Not to Be Despised”, No. 2601, retrieved from https://www.spurgeongems.org/vols43-45/chs2601.pdf

The Bible. New International Version, Nashville, Holman Bible Publishers, 1986.

A version of this essay was first published in Common Place Quarterly (2019, Q2)