We all dream of doing great things with our lives.  I know I have a great many things that I want to accomplish during the next few years of my journey.  However, I've lately become convinced in my heart of something that I've always known in my head:

Great accomplishments are made of little details.  If you attend to the small things in life well, you will be prepared to do well in the larger.

One of my favorite quotes from 19th century writer, John S. C. Abbott, applies this to the home:

"Few persons imagine how much one's usefulness and happiness in life depend upon their cultivating a habit of neatness, order, and system in all that they do.  Some ladies will accomplish twice as much all through life as some others, simply because in their childhood, they acquired the habit of keeping everything in its proper place.  Go into their house, and everything appears in order.  There is no hurry or bustle.  There seems to be no effort in keeping things in order.  Other ladies, who have been trained up under different habits, either give up in despair, and indolently sit down in the midst of the confusion which reigns in their house, or they hurry through life, never enjoying any quietness or leisure."

I can relate to the second woman, whose household is in confusion because she doesn't allow enough time to manage it well.  Nor, does she keep her house with an eye for the myriad details that make for a functional home.

I can be very organized and detailed in the activities that I naturally enjoy.  However, true character applies disicpline to whatever a person's hand finds to do.  The truly disicplined person attends to the little details in every arena of life.

Of course, there's a balance here.  Some people err on the other side by nitpicking their way through life.  These are the proverbial people who miss the forest for the trees.  I sometimes miss the trees for the forest and bang into them.  There's a middle ground here where it's good to meet.

Benjamin Franklin applied this principle to finances:  "Watch out for slow leaks," he said, "for even the smallest leak can sink a ship."

On the flip side, "A penny saved is a penny earned."

Though I'm not an Oprah fan, I'll close out with her words:

"Love is in the details."

Here's to a Merry Home!