I found this as I was cleaning out a box the other day. When I first came into recovery someone shared this with me now i want to share it with anyone who may need a little encouragement. It's my way of celebrating 6 years now of being sober!!!

It was once announced that the devil was going out of business and would offer his tools for sale to whomever would pay his price. One the night of the sale all his tools were attractively displayed, and  a nasty looking lot they were! Malice, Envy, Deceit, and all the other instruments of evil were spread out for all to see, each one marked with its price. Seperate from the rest was a very harmless looking wedge-shaped tool, very much worn and priced much higher than the rest.

Someone asked the devil exactly what that worn out and higher priced tool was used for. "That is discouragement", was the devils reply. "Well, why do you have it priced so much higher than the others?" "Because", replied the devil, "it's more powerful and useful to me than any of the others. I can pry open and get deep inside anyones life with that tool, when I couldn't even get near them with any of the others. And once I get inside, I can begin to use them in whatever way suits me best. That tool of discouragement is so very much worn because I use it with nearly everyone, yet few people know that it belongs to me and my work."

"You say you use this wedge of discouragement with nearly everybody  - with whom can you not use it?"

The devil hesitated a long time and finally said in a low, almost sad voice, "I can not use it to get into the life and spirit of anyone who is a grateful person."