Lent: Ash Wednesday

God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. -1 John 1.5

Ash Wednesday doesn't invoke a cheerful connotation. When you think of it, I bet it doesn't ignite happy thoughts inside, does it? It is not there to make us feel happy and full of joy, and yet when you experience it, it kind of does that.

It reminds us of the frailty of our lives and how we are made from dust to to dust we shall return, but all the while the in-between times matter. We have this place to live in. This place where God gives us time to enjoy His creativity. But we are to recognize Him as the author. To ignore that is to ignore the core of our existence to risk missing our purpose.

God created us for His pleasure. You know when you create something (a story, a picture, an idea, a business) it becomes precious to you? That is what we are to God. His precious creation.

So this day, Ash Wednesday is a reminder that we are God's creation, made from dust, and that we were not made for this world alone. God gives us this amazing gift of eternal life to anyone who accepts this gift with his whole heart. The joy felt on Ash Wednesday is extracted from this promise of God, and we can surrender everything to Him.

Today I go to church and sit in the service where my pastors remind us of our beginnings from dust. I will be marked with a cross of ash on my forehead. And I remember. And I am thankful. And I feel washed clean and forgiven. And I remember God's promises.

And the joy enters in as I let go of those things which hold me back....