OMTL Day 13 Sandpaper

I really liked the analogies in today’s chapter.  It compared people in our lives to tools in a tool shed.  Each one has a specific reason it’s there and can be used to craft us into the work of art God wants us to be.  Here are some examples from the book…

*Sandpaper people rub you the wrong way, but they are really smoothing off your rough edges or sharpening you into a better tool for God to use.

*Measuring tape people are those that let you know that you are always falling short of their expectations.  You never measure up.  These people can be instrumental it making you realize you should look to God for approval, not others.

*Hammer people use force to get their way.  They could be in your life to cause you to stand up and be strong. 

*Skill Saws are naturally gifted at cutting others down, they win verbal arguments every time, not because they are right, but because they know where the weak spot is to cut down the other person.

*Vise grips get a grip on you and squeeze the life right out of you.  They are always needy and always have a crisis.

*Grinders, have an explosive personality, just waiting to go off and send the sparks flying.

*Axes tend to be negative and grumbling, looking for ways to tear down the hopes and dreams of others.

*Putty people have no consistency or backbone, always say yes and are always spread to thin.

God is much more interested in our character than in our comfort, He uses these people in our lives to shape us into who we need to be.  When people come into our lives, instead of getting irritated at them, we need to ask, “God what are you trying to build in my character?”

That’s a run down on the chapter from the book.  I know I used to be a putty person, actually at sometime I think I’ve been probably every tool in the shed.  I’m not proud of that fact.  I’ve also dealt with about every tool in the shed and I have not enjoyed it, but it has shaped me and molded me into the person I am now.  I never thought of it that way until I read the chapter in OMTL.  It’s a good way to think about it when people come into our lives that seem a little less than pleasant.