Vulcanizing Shops

 You see the signs all around, in every small town and village. There will be a few tires on the side of the road with one tire on its side with the words "Vulcanizing". I wasn't sure what it meant at first. It's a tire repair shop. 

We got caught in the rain one day and the only place to duck out of the rain was in a vulcanizing shop. He was working on repairing a flat tire for a jeepney. It was fun to watch him work. He had tools to help him take the rim off the hub so it would come out. He then took the liner off which protects the inner tube from the hub and rim. He then deflated the tire, pulled it out, reinflated and looked to find the holes. He would mark them with a small pin. He had a big half barrel of water by his shop that he submerged the inner tube in. Once he found all the holes and marked them with pins, he would dry each spot thoroughly, put a sealant or glue on it then put on a patch. This patch would be placed under a machine that would heat the rubber until it fused with the old tire. It is no longer a patch but a integral part of the tire. After it was done, you could only tell where the patch was by the fact that the area was clean there. The tire was then reassembled.

I thought about how that is similar to what Christ does for us. We come with our holes or broken parts. He exposes the flaw so we see exactly where it is. He then cleans it and repairs it so that it is indistinguishable from the rest of the tire. You are made new, clean and whole, through Christ.