I love all kinds of hand and power tools. If you could come and tour the garage you would find, in addition to the mess, all types, shapes, and sizes. In addition to the normal hammers, screw-drivers, and sockets there a few things that are not in your standard kit.
I love the electric planer from Bosch. I have encountered skeptics who questioned the need for this type of appliance. Yet there is a marked change in attitude once they have used it! Granted I do not use it often but when I do it is wonderful! When those who have experimented with it come over it is as if they are looking for an excuse to get the planer out and play.
I love the canvas stretcher pliers as well as the electric staple gun. One of the things that my early teacher taught me was to be involved in the process of making art from the ground up. I find that the early stages help form the heart of what I am trying to express through paint and form. Having the right tools provides me with the opportunity to pour my energy into what it is that I am trying to express.
In every type of activity there is a tool, even beyond the garage. You have “a whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat — and a stick for the back of fools!” (Proverbs 26.3)
It is easy to forget in the process of using the tools what one is actually trying to accomplish. When I get out the planer or stretcher pliers I find myself moving into action before I stop and think about the steps to success. Far too often I am like that in relationships as well. I go into automatic when I am frustrated. I respond before thinking when I am confronted. I am preprogrammed for certain scripts.
There are alternatives. Grace is a tool that begs to be used, especially given the effectiveness with people; mercy is far more powerful than justice is; and unconditional acceptance – wow!
