You're Such A Tool

My dad used to fix most of whatever needed fixing around our house.  Oil change?  Check. He'd pull out the old oil pan to drain out the old oil and put in the new.  I think he still owns that old metal pan.  Anything pretty dirty or filthy often showed up in that pan.  I remember coming home from school one day, and my dog, Curious (who 'curiously' loved to chase cars) was laying in it.  Curiosity killed the cat, they say.  Got the dog that day, too.

When the garage door spring appeared to be broken, he assumed he could fix that too.  I probably will always remember him calmly walking up to me with his hand wrapped with a red and white towel (that started out white) and telling me to just keep playing, that he was driving himself up to the hospital (which in Ada was only about six blocks from my house).  That old (broken) garage door spring still had quite a recoil.

Yes, during all these 'fix-it' moments, I was usually out playing.  Football, baseball, army, bicycles or skateboards, there was ALWAYS something to do.  I never had an interest in learning how to change brakepads or fix a leaky faucet.  I think I have the aptitude and the fortitude...but not the wantodude.

Certainly I've had my share of projects to complete as a father.  Swingsets, slides, bicycles and scooters all took hours to complete (mostly at night).  Much of the furniture in my house had to be assembled.  If I have instructions I can do it.  But you also have to have the right tools.

My tool chest is actually a 'drawer' that consists mostly of tools I managed to borrow (and keep) from my dad.  I bought my dad a 'leatherman' for Christmas many years ago, and he loves it and uses it to this day.  He's never from from it.  I don't have one and probably don't want one (although it would be a better Christmas present than many I've gotten).  A 'leatherman' (in case you don't know) is part Swiss Army Knife, part Transformer.  It's about 10 tools in one that folds up neatly into a small pouch you can carry around with you or wear like a fanny pack.

Shopping for tools isn't fun (for me).  They're rarely on sale, and I don't know that I need a tool until I'm trying to fix something, and then suddenly realize I don't have the right wrench or drill or socket to do the job.  I have an aversion to the metric system, so that may be part of me being 'tool-challenged'.  So I usually use one of two things: a set of needle nose pliers or a screw driver.  I have several of both.  Whether it's the right tool or not, I'll at least try and fix everything with one of those two tools.  If neither work, I want no part of it; because I've found that when I try to use a tool on something that it was not intended to be used on, the results are never good.  I'm thinking my dad needed a different tool when he loosened the nuts on that garage door spring.  I know my dogs were meant to run and play in the yard, but not compete for pavement space with cars.

As a Christian, I was made to serve God.  I was made to praise Him.  I was made to commune with Him.  At least that's what the instructions say.  Therefore I believe I'm wired that way.  When I'm not doing those things, I'm not going to be happy.  I'm darned sure not going to be productive.  And the results won't be good.

All of us are tools in that way...different ones for different purposes.  Paul used the 'parts of the body' analogy in First Corinthians (Chapter 12).  In today's world, perhaps we could use the 'toolbox' analogy, how all of us are 'equipped' and 'tooled' differently, and we're all needed to get the job done.  Very few (none) of us are 'leathermen' (no matter how smart we think we are or multi-talented we profess to be).  When we try to do it all, we will most likely fail.  The road of those good intentions are littered with broken tools (and bruised knuckles and busted fingers; 'body parts' analogy still works, I guess).

One other thing: I know I especially don't like it when I've been tooling around doing things on my own and then abruptly I realize that God hasn't picked me up in awhile...that I haven't felt the 'hand of God'.  That's also not a good feeling (for me).

That's because I believe we all have a higher purpose, a divine application on this earth.  Otherwise, we're just trees; or animals; or oil pans.  God wants us to 'apply' ourselves to the task He sets before us.  Each one of us has a unique set of skills to use on each task; for each application.  I hope that He looks down on me, has a specific need in mind, and says to Himself (and to me), "I have an app for that."  And then He places his finger on me (nudges me), and then I get to work (and really apply myself).  Otherwise, I'm just another idle (dumb) tool in a drawer full of them.  I've got a drawer like that...and it's pretty useless.