The Right Tool For the Job
You need spring foam pans to make cheesecake. It’s a must. You have to have a jack to change a car tire. No other way to do it. The right tool for the job makes all the difference. I learned that this week.I started my first piece of real lace. I cast on with confidence using US size 5s. It went okay. But I knew it would be easier if I got some lace tip needles. But addi turbos are $17! A bit pricey for knitting needles. It made me think twice. Do I really need these? Comparing them to my regular needles the difference is so slight. The tip is barely smaller. The point is barely sharper. And they are the same length as my other perfectly good US size 5s. I hesitated. But I really want this lace project to go well and I know these needles will help. I bought them.The difference was immediate. The fraction of an inch let me slip my needles into every k2tog and ssk with ease. I actually got a little faster knitting along. Now my only worry is chart reading not fussing with my sticks to make them work properly.I started thinking how many times I “make due.” When I could get the right tool for the job and make life easier. Simple things sometimes: I rip apart yarn instead of getting scissors. I grab a bite over the sink instead of getting out a plate. I marshal on instead of seeking wise counsel. Okay that last one seems like a leap I know but here’s what I mean.I stew in my own crazy thoughts. If I need to sort out a problem my first thought is not seeking help. I try and wrestle an answer on my own. Sometimes I can figure out what’s wrong but the hours of worry involved are not really worth it. How much easier it would have been to get the right tool for the job: to ask for help.Help can come in lots of forms. Asking for a ride or a meal or feed my cat. Or the bigger ask, I am lost in this mess can you help me? This last one is the best place to ask God. “Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened.” Ask. I know some will say “But I don’t always get answers that way. “And that is a whole other debate. What I’m talking about here is the discipline of asking. The reminder to find the right tool for the job, to reach out and hold God’s hand when you are really stuck.