Introduction:  Tools are so much a part of our lives that we rarely notice we are using them.  When you prepare and eat a meal, you use tools.  When you plant a garden, you use tools.  When you jot down a note, you use tools.  Tools are so much more than pulling out a hammer and nails to build a birdhouse!  A tool is an extension of ourselves that we hold in our hands and use to create, maintain, or fix something.  Surprisingly, we never think twice about pulling out a knife to chop the veggies for dinner, but when it comes to building our spiritual lives, we don’t think to pull out a spiritual tool to make the job easier.  When we try to build, maintain, and repair our lives and the world around us we often use our bare hands rather than open up our spiritual toolboxes.

So, what are the tools we could be using if we opened up the toolbox?  Our tools are unique to each of us because we are uniquely created and gifted by God.  Our callings to do God’s work in the world are also unique.  Our tools are specific to our lives, but our tools may go by the same name.  For example, there are many kinds of wrenches, yet each is used for a special purpose. Likewise, spiritual tools can go by the same name but are used for different purposes. 

In this series of reflections, we will look at the tools of courage, steadfastness (also known as spiritual stubbornness), openness, gratitude, and hope.  There are, of course, many more—a whole spiritual hardware store of them!  But these are good basic tools to begin with and to use.