The broken gear
When I was young, my mother told me about an incident concerning my father at his workplace. My father was a department head and overseer for Burlington Industries, working his whole life in the textile field. My father worked closely with some of the research and development departments. Having a great deal of machinery of numerous types and purposes, he would have machinery breakdowns. These machines were not the kind you could go downtown and pick up a part for it. Some pieces took a lot of time to acquire. Many times, they had to be fabricated by hand. My brother Tim and I worked in the textile industry. I was a supervisor and had to take items down to the maintenance shop and braise or weld parts together enough to make it until we could acquire a new one.
My mother told me of an instance when my father had a crucial machine breakdown. A gear had broken, and they had no spare parts to operate the machine. My father had to get one made. He took it down to Sykes Foundry in Burlington, North Carolina, near the mill (Plaid Mills) in Burlington. He was close friends with Mr. Sykes.
As many may know, foundries were used to make parts in most industrial areas in the past. Nowadays, some fabricators use laser cutters and tig welders to make parts or create new design products.
My father took the broken gear in 4 or 5 pieces wrapped in a shop rag to the foundry. My father asked Mr. Sykes to make him one just like this one as soon as possible. Creating a mold is the first step for casting the part. The mold consists of sand-like fine material. Mr. Sykes was a jokester and thought he would have fun with my father. When my father returned to pick up the part, Mr. Sykes had it in a box. My father opened the box, and there was an identical gear in 4 or 5 pieces. My father laughed and said I wanted a new part, whole and complete.
We sometimes approach God when we are broken physically or do not work the way we intended in our broken lives. We often want a quick fix to overcome discomfort or achieve a goal we have set in life. We are like the parts in the box because we asked amiss. We ask God to make us anew, but we want to remain the same and free from a challenge or life. We must be born again, a new creation molded by the hands of God and completed by the holy spirit. Not just a replacement part identical to the example of our previous form. The scriptures state that we are wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of God. Due to our sinful state, we must be broken for God to perfect us.