As I have done in previous Lents I am sharing a daily reflection as part of my Lenten discipline. This year I am using the “Wilderness Wanderings” theme compiled by the “Lent Photo a Day” group. The word appointed for February 27th was  “Ruler.”

I am sure that the word for today was meant to be about kings and politicians. But I think about those positions of power enough and will do so again. Today, I am actually thinking about rulers- you know the straight edge variety.

They usually are a foot long, marking 12 inches on one side, and centimeters and millimeters on the other side for our metric system friends. They help us tell distance, and for those that still use printed maps which are put to scale, they can be useful there as well. (If you don’t know what those are, then I guess I am showing my true age in this day of the ease of Google Maps and other such software.)

I used to love rulers because they helped me draw straight lines. They helped me measure distance, and were useful in drawing and perspective. I grew up drawing airline maps, cities and city-scapes, as well as loving to draw 3-D perspectives of landscape. A ruler was my best friend.

In thinking about those trusty rulers, I remember a useful tool. The ruler itself did not do anything, but was useful in my work and creative process. As I think today, perhaps those kinds of tools for me are the internet, Microsoft Word, and my trusty computer.

As a Christian and Lutheran the stock answer to this might be the Bible, or if you are super nerdy, the Book of Concord. Both are good answers. Equally good might be a service book or hymnal. Naturally, I seem to use them all when facing different needs.

What are your tools or “rulers” that make your work, play, or study more effective? What tools or rulers do you use?