Lessons from a Leatherman

Lost… Beaten… Damaged… Scarred…. That is the situation that described the state it was in.

It was a warm summer day and I had decided to go out and attempt another fishing excursion. I usually did not travel far and today was no exception. I headed off to one of my more frequented locations. I normally had fair success there and figured that today would be no exception.

I enjoyed my time there, soaking up the sun. The success of my fishing however was a let-down. I wandered up and down the shoreline just enjoying being outside when I caught a glint of sunlight off of a foreign object partially buried in the rocks. I walked over and stooped down. Picking it up, I discovered that I had found a Leatherman. Too bad I had not found it sooner I thought. I just purchased a new one not two days ago. This discovered tool showed a lot of wear and tare. The abuse it endured was obvious. I rolled it around in my hand, brushing the dirt and grime from it. I noticed on one of the sides that someone had chiseled in either a name, initials, or something. The scaring of the process was there, but the clear reading of the writing had weathered away over time. What once was important to someone, had become a castoff. I am sure it was lost accidentally, but it definitely appeared to me that the search for it was of no great importance.
I placed the Leatherman in my pocket and headed home. Once I got home I went into the garage and found some steel wool, WD-40, and some oil. I figured I might as well clean it up the best I could and keep it for my own use. The process of cleaning the tool was long and tedious. The hinges were full of gunk. The insides were rusted, jammed with dirt, and showed many a sign of improper use. The wire snips were used to cut something it should not. The blade had been used to pry something open and therefore the tip was broken off. The screw driver heads were all chipped, weathered, and no longer of great use. The Leatherman overall was in very poor shape. I continued to clean it up and decided that I would keep it in my tackle box for fishing trips. I mean it was already in terrible shape. Fishing trips would not cause it anymore harm.
One day I was working on my vehicle and needed to tighten a screw. My tool box was there in the garage and I could have gone over and grabbed one. But I decided to use my Leatherman instead. You know, the new one I had purchased days before finding my “gem”. I removed the Leatherman from my holster with one hand and attempted to flip it open like I had so many times before. Only to find that it was not cooperating. What is wrong with you I thought? Why are you being so difficult? It was then that it hit me. I had grabbed the new Leatherman and not my trusted one. UGH!! I thought. You would think a Leatherman is a Leatherman. It is a multi-tool. It should not matter which one I grab. I was about to head over to the tool box and grab a screw driver when I saw it. My tackle box was right there! I flipped it open and there laid my scarred Leatherman. I grabbed it up and with a flick of  my wrist, the Leatherman easily opened. I pressed against the blade with my thumb and the knife blade slid open without a care. I took the tool and tightened down the screw I had been needing to take care of. Not only that, but I accomplished my goal of working on my vehicle that day, using my trusted Leatherman in many of the tasks.
It was after this situation, that I took my new Leatherman and placed it into my tackle box. I took my found, scarred, damaged Leatherman and put it in a place of honor. In the Leatherman holster by my side. So that in a moment’s notice. When I needed a tool I knew I could depend on, it would be there. I took it everywhere. Never had I owned a tool that opened so easily. Never had I owned a Leatherman that could accomplish the tasks that I needed done. Sure, I used it on things that it was not intended for. You see, I discovered that the damage it had endured tailored it to fit perfectly into many tasks.
How often we go through life and become beaten, battered, abused, scared, and damaged by the world around us. Many people use us and then cast us aside. Often we give in to fleshly desires, hoping to fill some perceived or real “hole” in our life. We Give ourselves over to people, places, desires, sins… often times knowing that it is wrong, but having “no hope” in anything or anyone else.
Yes, you may have a past that has left you feeling destroyed and of no use. You may think that there is nothing that can be accomplished with your life. I am here to tell you that you are WRONG!! All those things in your life that have left a mark on you and have caused you pain, God wants to use to accomplish a task. It is unfortunate that we as a people have decided to live without God. We have individually made a choice to sin and reject God in our lives. Because of His mercy and grace, He sent His son to die for our sins. He then searches for us. Looking for the ones He died for. Looking for the ones who will call out to Him for forgiveness. Once you do, He will pick you up and start the work of repairing your life. As the Leatherman that I found, you will never be restored to a “new, store bought condition”. You will be restored and repaired to the task He has for you. Sure there will be constant reminders of the hurts and pains you endured. But God has a plan. You see, as the Leatherman blade was used for a task that it was not intended for, the damage the blade endured made it the perfect fit for what I needed. It was there, willing, and available. Because of this I was able to finish my goals.
The hurt we have gone through. The scars, abuse, neglect, pain… all of it can be used by God to accomplish a task. Many times it is these unique conditions of our life the He wants to use to reach another lost and hurting soul.
You may be thinking to yourself, I have trusted Christ as my personal Saviour. Why am I still suffering? Well, we live in a world of sin. Our flesh still craves for the things that we know are wrong. God is working on cleaning us up. I am sure if the Leatherman could have spoken, it would have cried out in pain. It would have screamed for me to stop as I cleaned it up. Scrapping away the rust and dirt and filth left by the abuse and abandonment. I knew what was best and needed to make it useful. In the same way, God is “cleaning us up” to be useful for Him. We allow Him to work. We allow Him to take control. We to can find ourselves in a “place of honor” as we submit to his desires for us. Knowing that He loves us and only wants what is best for us and will bring Him joy and pleasure.