I Believe

I believe in miracles. I think most miracles are made possible by the Spirit of God prompting people like us to meet the needs of others but I do believe in the honest to goodness miracles. The kind where God bends the laws of nature to bring about a tender mercy. I really do. I have to because they happen in my life. I am not sure if I can explain this one well but I am going to try.

The other day I loaded my kiln. It was pretty darn full. As I was loading the kiln it just starting heating. I was going to stop it but heat felt nice. Its been snowing out here and those of you who know me well know I HATE being cold. I finished and closed the lid and walked away. I couldn't remember if I had set the setting completely - I knew I had at least started to program it but I couldn't remember finishing. I have to hit the start bottom like fifty times to get it to actually start so I figured I must have REALLY hit it - not a slight brush of the button or anything, which meant I must have really gone through all the settings...Mom, brain I swear! Cant remember what I have done or not done ten minuets ago. Plus, to be totally honest I was eager to back in the house where it was warmer.

Twice later that day I found myself wondering if I had turned it to the right settings before it started. I would go out there check what I could and they figure I had and go back in the house to warm up again.

That night as we ate dinner Stew ran out to the garage to get something and commented on how hot it was in there. Suddenly it hit me, I had not set the temperature and thus it would run on default. I ran outside but it was too late the kiln had completed firing. I cycled through the settings and found it had fired two settings too hot. This on a glaze fire is a disaster. I knew this meant all my glazes would be burned, pock marked with bubbles, and their colors would be chard and ugly. If the glazes were super intolerant to high heats it could mean that they would melt so much that they would have dripped off the pieces and all over my kiln . If that were to happen we'd have to spend hundreds of dollars to repair it and buy new shelves. I was devastated.

I walked straight into my room and began to pray. My stupid slip-up could cost us up to a thousand dollars, weeks of my hard work, and some of my glazes were recently discontinued I would never be able to remake what I had just done. I had done impressions for a family that lives far away that I was going to ship their chain plates to - I'd never be able to redo them, the other family wanted to capture how tiny their infant was and now they'd have to redo them and babies grow so fast. I had also made lots of pieces for my new line of products for my business and I felt so devastated that I would have to start all over again. I felt like I should just give up on my new products and not remake them at all, just call it quits. I prayed hard for a miracle. I didn't feel I deserved one but I prayed hard for one anyways. Bridger came to my side and tried to help me feel better. He bushed my tears off my face and said a little prayer for me and asked that "mommy's stuff in the kiln didn't get too hot." I prayed for comfort and my sweet husband comforted me. He started to tell me what we could to do to make it better but I told him I was holding out for a miracle. He said ok. I thought about how there are blessings that Heavenly Father wants to give us and sometimes all we have to do is ask and they are ours. So I asked and asked.

This morning as I went out to my kiln to open it for the first time I pushed up the lid and to my utter delight I saw perfect plates sitting there! PERFECT. I was so grateful. It was a honest to goodness miracle. It was still too hot to unload and see each shelve but I went back to my room and prayed a prayer of thanks. Stewart even knelt with me.

I didn't deserve it but Heavenly Father granted me a miracle. He saved my creations, every one. I will forever remember how He did that for me. Always.