“Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstonein the hand of Zerubbabel?” (Zechariah 4:10).

Zechariah was the prophet during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, men who led the exiles as they returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city wall. If you have ever done construction work, you know that it is a series of small things, done well and in order, that lead to the construction of a large thing. In this case, a series of mundane tasks of hauling away debris, recycling usable construction materials, laying stone to rebuild the temple and city wall. When Zerubbabel placed the final capstone on the temple, the LORD rejoiced, and said, “who dares despise the day of small things.”

I admit that sometimes my tendency is to despise the small things. It seems much more glamourous and exciting to be part of something grand. But that is not usually our reality. The reality is that those grand and glamorous things are usually built on the small and ordinary. The question is, then, what is one small thing, that if you did it, it would change everything?

Daily decisions determine our path. Every path leads to a destination, and every destination leads to a destiny. And our destiny determines our legacy. The law of the harvest prevails—we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7).

And these changes do not have to be big ones. God gives us a will, and with our will we can determine our decisions—decisions about what we think about, who and what we look at and listen to, what we say, and what we do. Sometimes, it is being faithful to a daily discipline. Here is an example of what John Wooden, an extraordinarily successful basketball coach, says about the importance of small things.

“I think it’s the little things that really count. The first thing I would show our players at our first meeting was how to take a little extra time putting on their shoes and socks properly. The most important part of your equipment is your shoes and socks. You play on a hard floor. So you must have shoes that fit right. And you must not permit your socks to have wrinkles around the little toe–where you generally get blisters–or around the heels. It took just a few minutes, but I did show my players how I wanted them to do it. Hold up the sock, work it around the little toe area and the heel area so that there are no wrinkles. Smooth it out good. Then hold the sock up while you put the shoe on. And the shoe must be spread apart–not just pulled on the top laces. You tighten it up snugly by each eyelet. Then you tie it. And then you double-tie it so it won’t come undone–because I don’t want shoes coming untied during practice, or during the game. I don’t want that to happen. I’m sure that once I started teaching that many years ago, it did cut down on blisters. It definitely helped. But that’s just a little detail that coaches must take advantage of, because it’s the little details that make the big things come about.” John Wooden, quoted in Newsweek.

I love to play dominoes with my grandkids. They humor me by playing the game, but what they really love to do is to line them up and start the chain reaction by pushing the first domino over. (video). Dominoes are a type of metaphor for the path of our life. Have you ever considered that each of us is only one change away from our destiny, one small thing? What is one thing—one change, that if you did it, it would change the path of your life?

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).

In Christ,

Judy