Scattering Ashes

 The whistle blew, steam shot forth from the massive Shay engine and a black cloud boiled out of the smokestack as the gears began to turn. It was awe-inspiring how a coal fire could move such a mammoth thing up a steep mountain.  An unexpected souvenir we took with us from Cass Scenic Railroad that day was a ton of gritty coal ash in our hair that took us several days to completely wash out.
     Like most of my West Virginia friends, I am well acquainted with ashes…especially coal ash. When my soon-to-be-husband wanted to make a good impression on his in-laws, he offered to do the routine chore of emptying the ash pan in the stove (which allows air to flow and the fire to burn brighter). Mom instructed him to carry the pan every so carefully as not to spill any on the vinyl flooring and then back out the door, pushing it open with his backside. Under my dad’s watchful eye, Jeff tried to do everything right and was concentrating so much on not spilling any hot coals that he heard wrong or was just showing off and walked backwards all the way through the house. He truly made an impression because years later his extra effort and backing skills are still talked about.   
     When our kids were little they’d roll down the mound at the side of the cellar in tire inner tubes but it wasn’t until recently I learned the mound had been one of Grandma’s ash piles. She would dump coal ashes there and over time built up a nice little hill that helped insulate the cellar and keep the potatoes from freezing! And apparently the ledge around the garden fence was also another one of her ash piles, purposefully constructed to prevent water from flowing into the garden from the pond. 
    About the only other use I knew for coal ashes  was before everyone had 4-wheel drive vehicles, we’d  scatter the ashes on the slick, frozen, steep driveway to provide friction and get cars unstuck. 
    Treasured wood ashes on the other hand have many uses! According to an article by Claude Davis on askaprepper.com, you can sprinkle some in corners or areas you don’t want roaches, mice, slugs, or deer. You can use ashes to preserve seeds in clay containers, or fruits and vegetables in an in-ground ash pit. And water mixed with wood ash can make lye water which kills bacteria. (Numbers 19:17 possibly points to this when an unclean person is instructed to mix water with ashes in a vessel.)  Some homesteading websites also suggest you can brush your teeth with ashes made into a paste, but you have to draw the line somewhere…
     In the Bible they were always putting ashes on their heads and wearing sackcloth to show repentance. This year Ash Wednesday falls on Feb. 14—Valentine’s Day. What better way to fill our hearts than to lovingly repent (which can be symbolized by ashes).  Job 42:2 gives us an example as he tells the Lord, “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”  In verse three he admits he didn’t fully understand God’s plan and spoke of things he didn’t understand.  (Haven’t we all been there, done that?)  But in verse 6 he repents, “Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.”
     In 1Kings 13:3 Jeroboam had one more chance for repentance.  “And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.”  Is there anything I can get rid of so the fire of the Holy Spirit could burn brighter in my life? I don’t know about you, but as for me, I’ve got some ashes to take out before the train leaves the station.

---