The Kiln God

As I have hundreds of times before I am sitting in front of a roaring kiln, dark early morn, reading the most Treasured Ancient Living Text, being present with God, drinking coffee, being quiet.  This is such living, being, alive.  When I was a young student I remember watching the grad students mold a small clay figure and place it at the top of the kiln and call it a “Kiln God” to ensure a good firing.  I never believed they believed it but I always did.  I was inwardly troubled by what I considered dangerous spiritual territory; Jim Croce knew you don’t “spit into the wind or pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger…”, and I knew you didn’t mess around with God.  As I sit here this morning I was talking to God and thanking Him that he was present even inside the kiln.  Not like I am present in the pots I make or the coffee I made and am drinking now.  No, He is present in that all things that are, in all that there is, are only because He continually wills them to be.  It is one of those profound mysteries that makes kiln gods a shot in the right direction, there is A Kiln God as there is One God Almighty, Owner of All—which clarifies WHO.  That is why sitting here watching a kiln is one of the most meaningful ways to spend time with Him who is truly The Kiln God.