Scripture Challenge Week 26: Big Things Start as Small Things

During our run on Friday, my friend and I were talking about ideas for making Martin Luther King Junior Day meaningful for our kids. It's important to know the history of the Civil Rights movement and to recognize how far things have come. But it's also important to us to help our kids see the importance of doing what we can do - however small it might be. Because really, everything big that happens starts as something small. Martin Luther King Junior didn't just jump in and do big things. He noticed. He talked to people. He listened.  He developed compassion and a felt a calling to do all that he could do. He did a long series of small things that added up to some pretty big things.

Every year, for MLK Jr day, we like to watch the "I have a dream" speech (it's all over YouTube) and talk about the Civil Rights movement a bit (the things that used to seem fine and fair to so many Americans that now seem so sad and wrong, the bus boycotts, the brave kids who helped enforce the end of school segregation, etc.). But we also read books and talk about this important concept that big things are made out of little things. One of my favorite books on this is a simple picture book called Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed. It's about a little girl who does one little kind thing and that leads to 1000's of good things going on. I want my kids to understand the exponential power that a small act of service, a compliment, or a smile can have - even when it's just in your own home or neighborhood.

So my scripture for the week is this (and we'll make this our scripture to memorize this week):

"A very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm...Therefore, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power"

- Doctrine and Covenants 123:16-17 

Plus we'll review the quote we memorized a while back:

"We can do no great things - only small things with great love." 

 - Mother Theresa