Ben Franklin wrote the following in Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1758:
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.
For want of a horse, the rider was lost.
For want of a rider, the battle was lost.
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost.
All for want of a horseshoe-nail.
The obvious lesson is little things matter. This, however, is a hard sell in a culture than celebrates bigness and short-term success. How can we communicate the glory of doing the small things in a culture that promotes instant millions in state lotteries? Fantasy movies that earn billions of dollars in the box-office? Although the Superbowl has been in steady decline over the last four years, it still managed ninety-eight million views last year. Americans like big things, and, as a result, we tend to lessen the importance of doing the little things correctly.
Believe it or not, there is actually a real-life example of Ben Franklin’s poem. In the early part of the Civil War, Lee decided to take the battle into Union-held Maryland. He sent two messengers to carry his orders, Order 191, to his troops that had divided for their next attack near Sharpsburg. Allegedly, when one messenger stopped to relieve himself, the orders – wrapped around three cigars – somehow fell out of his pocket and were later discovered by Union soldiers Barton W. Mitchell and John M. Bloss. General McClellan was thrilled with the find and shortly thereafter the Battle of Sharpsburg – better known in the history books as Antietam – began. While being technically a draw, the battle served as significant encouragement to the North. All because of a dropped piece of paper.
Homeschooling parents have the distinct opportunity to constantly cast a vision for the importance of small things. We can instruct our children in how to recognize the little things that need to be done around the home on a daily basis. We show them how to have an eye for details that their contemporaries miss. We remind them of the importance of maintenance or encourage them to demonstrate acts of discipline that in themselves seem minor but when employed over months and years, produce tremendous results that will set them head and shoulders above others.
Seldom is a job, marriage, or fortune lost overnight; instead, it is the natural result of the accumulation of small items left neglected, overlooked, or minimized. One nail. One decimal point moved the wrong way. An oil plug inadvertently left untightened after an oil change. Lug nuts that were put on yet not torqued. Shampoo packed into a suitcase without the lid being closed firmly. A few bills unpaid. On and on the examples go.
Education is preparation for life. Most parents put a justifiable emphasis on their children’s academic proficiency regarding learning but then overlook things like how to properly clean house, wash a car, establish a Bible reading plan, paint a room, handle a credit card, change a diaper, check tire pressure, or how to properly make a business transaction of some kind. When we teach our children to mind small things like horseshoes, we prepare them for future responsibilities in the future.
-300x147.jpg)
