It's All About the Tools!

Since my husband is an aircraft mechanic, you might think he is writing this, but nope… it’s me!  On Saturday, Wesley, our six year old, came and told me he had to change clothes because they got all wet while playing outside; then he told me how he and his brother were playing in “poison” water with their action figures. Poison water is what he calls our water from the well.  It isn't poisoned, but it isn't safe to drink.  Nonetheless, he proceeds to tell me how he and his action figures got all muddy SO he had to come inside to our shower to change his clothes and wash himself and his action figures.  Then he wants me to come see all the mud in the shower which he apologizes for then adds, “Oh, and someone got a lid stuck in the hole so the water won’t go out, but it wasn't me.”  Since I had just read a blog post about NOT hollering at your kids, I calmly thanked him for letting me know and started to clean up the mess.  I should have taken a picture of the mess!

Instead... here is a picture of the hole (after the lid was removed) which is the drain inside the shower which drains into a pvc pipe which directs the water to the drain in our bathroom floor.  This is the normal design for bathrooms here... I could explain further... but more pix instead...

a picture of the pipe and drain
It isn't dirty...it just looks like this!

and the lid (after removal, of course)

It didn't take long for me to realize that stuck lid was preventing the water from leaving the shower.  I HAD to remove that lid.  At first I didn't know what kind of lid it was or even if it was a lid.  My first “tool” of choice was my hand.  Honestly, the FIRST thing I wanted to do was get Dano, but since he was working on his broken motorcycle, I figured I could at least try to get it out.  Finally, I figured out it was a lid to the Johnson’s Baby Shampoo.  I couldn't get a grip on it.  It just turned and twisted around.  Perhaps it was stuck worse!  Ugh!  I decided I needed something skinny to grip it.  Being a girl, the first thing that came to mind was tweezers!  The multipurpose tool, right!?  Well, they proved to NOT be so effective.  I realized I needed a REAL tool.  Once again, I thought, I’ll go get Dano!  But I knew that was pretty much copping out.  SO, I went to the garage and started opening drawers… searching.

See… the problem is NOT that I am incapable of using the tool… the problem is I don’t really know where the tools are.  I have a general idea:  the garage.  I have a little more specific idea… one of the drawers on the toolbox.  But other than that… it is a search.  I am not familiar with the organizational strategy out there in the garage.  I don’t even care to know.  I have enough on my plate.  I don’t need to be an expert in EVERYTHING (even though I kind of want to be).  Anyway, since I decided to be a big girl, the search began.  I knew I needed some sort of needle nose pliers.  I was hoping to find a pair just sitting on top of the toolbox… but nope.  First drawer… nope.  Second drawer… nope.  Third drawer… plier heaven!  I found a pair that I thought would do the trick so I headed back to the bathroom.

tool comparison!

 Sure enough, in a matter of seconds the lid was out of the drain thanks to the pliers!  Finally, I was able to wash the 40 pounds of dirt down the drain!  It really was a simple job… it just needed the right tool.  I was kind of ashamed of my first inclination to run get Dano.  While I was mulling over how simple it really was to remove the lid once I had the right tool, I heard God whispering to me about life.  

I love to hear those whispers.  Sometimes I’m too distracted to hear them.  Or maybe too far away from God.  You have to be close to someone to hear them whisper.  I’m thankful that today, I could hear Him.

When we are faced with challenges in life, are we using the right tools?  Do we run to another person hoping they will fix our problem?  Do we put our trust in weaker tools like I was hoping the tweezers would work?  Do we try complaining?  Gossiping?  Worrying?  Ignoring?  Thinking an issue to death?  (This is different from worry... it is just trying to figure it out on your own.)  These tools are powerless to solve our problems.  Sometimes they can make the problem worse or create more problems. 

When we have those challenges, we need to ALWAYS head to our toolbox to find the RIGHT tool, don’t we?  The toolbox is God’s Word!  Maybe the right tool we need is meditating on God’s Word.  Maybe we need to pray.  Maybe we need to seek Godly counsel.  Maybe we need to seek forgiveness.  Maybe we need to forgive! 

So as you face the challenges which are hurled at you each day whether large or small, I encourage you to make the effort to go to THE tool box.  And I pray that you are familiar enough with it that the thought of going to it isn't intimidating like it was for me to go to Dano’s tool box.  If it is, there is only one way to solve that… get familiar with it!  Use it!  Spend time searching through it until it feels like home.  It is okay to NOT be a Biblical scholar.  Thankfully, God does not expect that.  He accepts us as children, but let’s grow… let’s get familiar with our Heavenly tool box!  God is waiting to whisper to you.  He loves you so!