Heavenly Company

Recently, I observed a flock of beautiful geese and ducks that the Lord so masterfully made. As I watched them, I was just amazed by the color orange. The orange that colored their beaks was so beautiful. It almost seemed unrealistic. How could an orange that beautiful exist? That doesn’t even begin to speak of its texture – so luscious that I longed to touch it. Out of fear of getting snipped by the bird’s unpredictable beak, I restrained my curiosity.  How good is the Lord to have created such imaginative creatures? He has a plan. The wandering geese and ducks know nothing about coronavirus. They just waddle along nibbling at their feathers and green grass in search of something to eat.

A brave goose approached me as I observed the flock from a bench beside the pond. I expect it was driven by the faintest thought that I might have a treat for him. As it came closer and closer, I was able to gaze deeply into his eyes. Eyes of the most incredible blue. Blue like an infinite, crystal-clear body of water with a dark black center. As I stared into the eyes of this beautiful goose, I wondered what it may see in me. I will never know, but what I do know is that his eyes were awe-striking. How kind of God to afford me the opportunity of this experience.

This is a difficult time for many of us. We all have different challenges during this uncertain time. Some seem thornier than others. While I am beyond blessed in many ways, I remain human. I still struggle with yearning for things to be back as they were before March 2020. I long to hug my friends and family without worrying if I am going to make them sick or that they might make me sick. I want to get out and live life in the “normal” we knew before. Yet, that is not my reality right now. I am left in the company of my cat and walks alone - that on occasion provide unexpected company – Heavenly Company in the form of white, white birds. Though this company could not speak “human,” they acknowledged me - even if it was out of shallow, food-wanting intentions. Oh, to be acknowledged and known by another. Even if it is only by birds, it seems that when whoever or whatever acknowledges me, I am reminded and comforted by this truth:

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and  you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” A selection from a Psalm of David – Psalm 139:1-12

Everything that we do is more than what it is.

Anderson Ranch - a place to hone one's artistic skills. In the ceramics program specifically, it is a place where one can sit down at the potter's wheel for the first time to try her attempt to throw the perfect cylinder. A place where even an expert at her craft can be exposed to new ideas and develop existing ones further by being instructed by a new teacher.  This week in the Soldner Studio, it was a place where Suze Lindsay and Kent McLaughlin, a potter couple from North Carolina, taught students from the ages of 88 to 20  how to put a lid on a pot in their course, "Put a Lid on It."  Putting a lid on a pot is not always as easy as it may seem. There are many ways that it can be done. Yet, the challenge is always the same - the fit.  Did you leave enough room for that flange to fit in the gallery after it has been glazed?  Add another level of complication - throw it in an atmospheric kiln and see if that perfect fitting lid still fits. But are these the real reasons that people come to the Ranch?

In talking to a regular Anderson Ranch student - a favorite of mine, Carol, I discovered something special about her take-away from the course.  After talking about a few new favorite discovered glazes, the most important thing that Carol took away from the class and admired most was the way that Suze and Kent interacted with one another. She said that more than technical information, she took valuable life lessons about how we relate to one another. In that moment, I agreed. I said you're right, Carol. Isn't what all of this is about?  It's not just about making pots or working with clay for that matter. It is about something greater.  We do what we do for something else.  That's when I said, "You know, everything that we do is more than what it is."

When an instructor brings an 88 year old student a cup of tea.  When a fellow classmate picks up your lunch plate.  When a fellow intern grabs the other handle of the trash can as his teammate is picking it up to load it into the Mule.  When a studio coordinator adds an extra level of organization to the studio by laying the glaze tests out in a grid by clay body and firing type for the students. When an Artistic Director of 32 years is still hosing out the studio with his interns. These are the things that make a difference. Every little detail. Everything we do from squeeging the floor to grinding a kiln shelf goes into something greater. Each are necessary to get the perfect lid on the perfect pot. The pot is the object that ultimately forms a relationship with an individual.  Yet the pot is only a remnant of what is the most important - the relationship. The relationships that we make are the entire reason that we are even on this planet.

I am describing the relationships that are formed through clay because that is my story. But each of us have our own.  The plumber. The lawn tender. The chef. The janitor. The nurse. Each field does what they do all for people.  The relationships that we form with people through what we do are why we are here. Everything that we do is way more than what that thing is.

Come join the Ranch as it celebrates its 50th Year Anniversary this summer!

For more information see www.andersonranch.org