Snowboard Repair: Forever Marked

Last week I wrote this huge sidenote post about how sweet it was to have my new snowboard. [This was the 155 cm Neversummer].  I was able to go again this past weekend to another local mountain.  This place was known to be a little....rockier.  You will soon see why

Stupid rocks.  Now I have a giant gash on the back of my snowboard and as you can tell from the bottom picture, it brings a frown to my face. :(

Spiritual Lesson:

Consider the snowboard mankind.  Consider the giant gash on the back of it our sinful nature in life.  The more scratched up the back of the board gets, the poorer the performance of the board.  The smooth ride that was once enjoyed before is likely to be rough and choppy now.  Also, if the gashes get deep enough, it can begin to affect the core of the board, thus causing damage much deeper than just at the surface.  Likewise, the more sin that we have in our life, the less capability we have to perform in our lives [up to God's standards].  Sin smothers us and makes it hard for us to enjoy life to the fullest.  God never designed for our boards to be ridden with these flaws in them, yet we bring these gashes in on our own (me running over the dumb rock).  Our lives begin to suffer due to our sinful nature and the deeper we get into sin, the more likely we are to never recover...

How do we fix this?

There are a lot of ways to potentially fill the gash in the snowboard.  Maybe I could just coat the base of the snowboard in wax to fill in the gaps.  Maybe I could use some type of glue or an epoxy type substance.  Maybe I could put stickers over it to make it less noticeable (yeah right, I'd need like 1000 stickers :( ).  All of these are valid methods, but none of them will make the board like new again.  Well, except for one thing.  P-tex. (google p-tex and you will see what it does).  This p-tex candle will fill in the gaps in the base of the snowboard and will make it as if the gash was never there to begin with.  However, it's not too easy of a process.  Before the p-tex is applied, the base needs to be sanded so all the rough edges are taken out. After this, the p-tex can then be used.  P-tex comes as a candle and it needs to be heated up before it is applied.  Once the candle is heated up, small melted p-tex droplets will drip from the candle onto the board, filling the gaps.  This needs to be done over all the areas that are scratched up.  Once the gaps are filled, there needs to be a scraping phase. (There will be leftover p-tex that overflows the gaps that need to be scraped off.)  Once the scraping off is complete, a fine sanding needs to happen.  This will ensure that the bottom of the board is smooth just as it was before the scratches and gashes.  The board can now be re-waxed.  Now the board rides like new again!  However, the cosmetic marks that were left behind from the scratches will always be there.  Those the p-tex won't be able to hide.

In our own personal lives, it is fairly common to try and fix our own problems.  We seek worldly means to make us happy (money, success, relationships, etc).  But just like the snowboard, there is really only one way to fix the issue of our sin.  This is through Jesus Christ.  He is the one way that will cleanse us of our sin and restore us back to the way we were intended to be, allowing us to ride nice and smooth.  However, much like the p-tex process, it is fairly intensive.  When God cleanses us, it's never an easy process.  Sometimes it's tough, sometimes it's hard, and often times it hurts.  Nevertheless, God uses it for His glory.  He doesn't promise that it'll be simple, but He does tell us that He'll never leave our side.  And similarly, our lives should be marked forever due to the grace and mercy that God has shown us.  The love that God displayed to us should be displayed to others as well.  That we should not hide.


Check it.  As it turns out, the fix was more than just a p-tex repair.  It also required base weld.  w00t.