BUCK AND RIVET

I recently wrote a blog about the mother of a wonderful friend. Her name was Florida Thompson. Florida recently passed away at 91 years of age. While attending Florida's funeral I learned she worked for over 30 years at one of the air force bases either making air planes or repairing them. She was part of a two person team performing a job called a "riveting team". As the pastor giving her memorial spoke, he explained what the two person "riveting team" did on an air plane. Their is one person with a gun that installs a rivet through a hole in steel body/wing/or whatever of an aircraft. A bucking bar is used on the backside of a metal rivet to counter the force of the hammering with the gun on the other side. This enables the rivet to fit snugly into place. Modern day aircraft can have up to a million rivets. Though today, as they are built, they are inserted by machines, when replaced for repairs, they are hand done by man. During the war and until recent years, civil service workers held these jobs. Florida Thompson was one of these employees.

You see, it took two people to install every rivet. One to work the rivet gun and the other to be on the other side of the steel with a bucking bar. One person could not put a rivet into place alone. There had to be cooperation of both people at the same time. Each person needed the other in order that the rivets be attached properly. Though sometimes there were flaws due to human error (i.e. wrong angles when hold the rivet gun, or too much pressure when hold the gun, or holding the bucking bar to close or too long against the steel), each person needed to carefully follow each procedure so that the rivets would fit snugly and at the right angles.

This makes me think of how it is with us and our Lord. Though God himself is capable to do all things without our help, we are not able to do anything without His. When He calls us to do a job, to mend a fence, to forgive a person, to love someone who is unlovable, to feed the homeless, care for someone we don't even know, and so on and so on, there is no way we can do it alone. We may have the tools in finance, time, talents and desire, but without His involvement and help, it will never be right or perfect. It will always be flawed. It will never have His seal of approval because we have done it on our own and without Him. We would have the gun and rivet, but without Him holding the bucking bar, it will be flawed.

So you see, He is to be our partner in our riveting team. He is to be a part of everything we do. We can do nothing without Him.

Today, I am thankful I have a bucking bar holder. Thankful my teammate is always there, never to let me down. Always there holding the right angle, never too close or too far away. Always on time and always, always waiting for me. So thank you my BUCK AND RIVET partner. Thank you for your faithfulness.