BAG OF TOOLS:

~

Who would try to nail boards together without a hammer
or change a flat tire without a jack? To deny our need
for tools would be ridiculous, wouldn't it? Yet many of
us have trouble accepting that we need tools to repair
our damaged self-esteem.

Sheer force of will won't lift a car so that a bad tire
can be replaced and it won't lift a heavy burden from
our spirits either. Insight and knowledge of carpentry
can't pound a nail – nor can insight and knowledge,
without the help of tools, pound the dents out of our
battered psyches.

It isn't weak or shameful to admit that a human finger
isn't a screwdriver and a human eye isn't a microscope.
Why do we resist the idea that spiritual work, like physical
work, has its own set of tools? Reading, sharing, praying,
and attending our support group's meetings – these are the
tools that help us do the job. They aren't optional
niceties or crutches. If we need to lay a new foundation,
we need to dig a big hole. And if we need to dig a hole,
we'd better be willing to use a shovel.

My willingness to use the tools determines the outcome
of the job.