BREAKING THE MOULD

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4 : 7-12

When I think of a mould I remember the ‘Jelly’ moulds that my mum used so that jelly came out in the shape of a rabbit or other animal. A Mould is a hollow container into which a substance is poured or pressed to allow it to harden into a certain shape. Moulds are used in everything from cooking to fashioning precious metals. When we speak of ‘breaking the mould’ it is usually to do with a human breaking free of their limitations. Life has a way of pressing us into a set of circumstances that leave us feeling trapped. We want to break out.

Len was the first drug addict I ever met. A painful upbringing was responsible for him being moulded into someone who had totally rebelled against authority. By his mid-twenties Len had reached rock bottom. Living alone in a rented room, addicted to drugs with nothing to live for, he was desperate and suicidal. As he went over in his mind the best way to end it all he noticed on the bedside table a Gideon’s Bible. He opened it and started to read from Genesis chapter one. As Len read, the words seemed to come alive and he began to experience a presence in the room. He couldn’t put the bible down but continued to read right through Genesis and into Exodus.

It was at this point Len told me he experienced such a sense of God that he fell on his knees and called out for God to help him. In response the presence of God that filled the room seemed to embrace him and fill him with love. Something broke in Len at that moment as tears filled his eyes; The mould was being broken and Len began to experience a new freedom. Len went on to be a songwriter, Gospel singer and preacher before emigrating to Australia where he is still a minister.

Len is living proof that it is possible to ‘break the mould’ with a little help from above.

Mick Reynolds