When I was a kid, my dad's parents were just moving into the modern age. I can remember when they didn't have an indoor bathroom, got water from a well ,had one of those huge console radios that was as tall as a 7 year old, heated their house with a wood stove, and fact, they not only had a wood stove in their living room, but also a wood cook stove.They didn't even have a car. Going to their house every Sunday afternoon was a step back in time.
One modern convenience they did have was a gas cook stove. Powered by propane, this stove was a marvel to all of us grandkids. At our house, the cook stove was electric,turn the knob and things started to heat up. But at my grandparents, the cook stove was always active, due to the pilot lights. Each of the burners had a little flame that was always there waiting for the command to fire into action to heat water or cook some delicious meat. This was so cool. We kids were of course mesmerized by these little flames (being boys, any flame would do). The problem was we also couldn't resist blowing them out. This usually got us in a little trouble, and then someone would have to relight the pilots.
That was my first experience with pilot lights. The future would bring others,on hot water heaters and furnaces. As an adult you begin to understand the importance of a pilot light, especially if you are the first in the shower early in the morning and the water is cold because the pilot light went out. The same feeling when you wake in the night and the house seems really cold...the pilot went out for some reason.
How the pilot light plays an important part in these appliances is obvious, there has to be a starter, a spark, some intricate part of the mechanism that is always warmed up and ready to ignite the whole structure, where a stove burner or rows of burners that boil water to send to the shower.
Lately I've thought about that pilot light in life. Who or what is it? And what can cause it to go out?
So let me conclude this post with some questions, what is your life pilot light. What keeps it lit and what can put it out? Does there seem to be a coldness in some part of your life? Does it need to be re-lit?
Peace my friends.
