A Bag of Tools

by R. L. Sharpe

Isn’t it strange

That princes and kings,

And clowns that caper

In sawdust rings,

And common people

Like you and me

Are builders for eternity?

Each is given a bag of tools,

A shapeless mass,

A book of rules;

And each must make

Ere life is flown

A stumbling block

Or a steppingstone.

Some time ago, in my travels. I had to make a quick stop and was gently rear- ended by the car behind me.

I will never forget how a little elderly gent out of the car to see if I was all right. I might have expected a chewing out, but got a question of concern for my well-being.

I assured him I and my auto were both all right, and noticed that he wore Korean War Veteran’s hat. Before I left, I would put my hand on that hat and thanked him for his service.

What started with a bump became a blessing. Life is funny.

Things we are so sure about can turn out differently. Martin Luther, the reformer, once said something to the effect that when we get to heaven, we are in for three surprises. One, people we are sure that will be there are not there.

Two, people we are sure would never get there are there. Three, if we are brutally honest with ourselves, we will be surprised that WE are there. (But by the grace of God go we ...).

Two Buddhist monks were chatting when their teacher walked by.

“Roshi,” they asked, “see the flag waving yonder? Is the flag moving the wind or the wind moving the flag?”

The Roshi smiled and answered, “Neither, you are moving both the flag and wind.”

All analogies sooner or later break down, and we can be deluded at times, but perception is important. A guidance counselor of my high school years, when I had a pet brontosaurus, would encourage me to see challenges as opportunities.

My first semester at Muhlenberg College was memorable. I had been “ Most Likely to Succeed,” and National Honor Society in high school. All I could muster by midterm exam time was a two point oh (Oh my ...).

But the opportunity gave a chance to exercise some mental muscles hadn’t had to use before. Upon arrival, the admissions person had alluded to the old academic chestnut, “Look to your right, look to your left, by senior year one of you won’t be here.” I’d like to think the Muhlenberg ring I proudly wear didn’t come from a Cracker Jack box.

Challenge or Opportunity. Where do we look and how we look are important. My dad saw that no one ran a coffee klatch where he worked. When we went to the “Ack e mee” store in the Philly area, he would buy a great quantity coffee, canned milk and sugar.

My birthday being in June, and Christmas in December, twice a year I would receive jars of pennies, dimes and nickels. Then would begin my job, putting them all into paper sleeves. They would be deposited into the college fund.

Dad’s eye for an opportunity, coffee grounds and loose change helped put me through Muhlenberg.

In the 16th chapter of St. Luke’s gospel, Jesus praises a manager who had been dishonest but used his head to get himself out of difficult situation.

Like my mom used to say, “Use your head for something besides a hat rack.”

God could use a little baby laid in manger to outwit the prince who made Darth Vader look like Pee Wee Herman.

Moses, a tongue-tied murderer, would lead his people to freedom.

Peter, a “fire, ready, aim” personality, who was always getting it wrong, even after our Lord’s resurrection, (See Galatians chapter 2) would be the Rock that the Church would be built upon. Look around, find a need and fill it, turn a bump into a blessing.

“A stumbling block or stepping stone” says the poem. Be we prince, king or capering clown, we can be builders for eternity. Even, and sometime especially, what started as a bump could turn to be blessing.

With the falling leaves of autumn, we say goodbye to the year. Those falling leaves, will provide nourishment for the lovely flowering miracle each Spring provides. Nobody, except, perhaps, the world’s greatest introvert enjoyed the in-house incarceration COVID lockdown provided.

For me, it gave me a chance to have a deeper relationship with some things. Two exercise devices and a clarinet, got dusted off and put into use.

Look around, and don’t dismiss what life presents you. Even dark things life presents you can turn out to be a gift.

Crosses have potentials to be turned to crowns.

“A bit of butter in the bitter batter makes the bitter batter better.” Say that 10 times fast. Look to the Triune God who loves, forgives and strengthens. The word “respect” (spectacles, spectrum, inspect) literally means “to look again.”

In respect for God and God’s world, look again at the bumps, pull out the bag of tools, read the rules and turn those bumps into blessings.