Ash Wednesday

Yesterday I went to my first Ash Wednesday service and it was beautiful. In this season of mourning the loss of my father and really feeling the sadness of death, Lent is a glorious season for reflecting on mortality and penitence. We're all dying. We were made from ashes and to ashes we shall return. Even though this is dark and depressing in some ways, it is also reassuring. God made us and once our earthly bodies are done, we will return to Him.

The service was thoughtful and reflective. There was a lot of singing and praying. There was kneeling and standing and sitting. The tone was somber, but not dark, if that makes sense. I love my modern worship songs and the happy clappy meetings that are filled with joy. But, it was refreshing to attend a service that was deeply reflective of our sins and failings. We need these times of remembering how fallen we are, how far we fall from even our own ideals, let alone God's. We are so far from holy. And yet, He makes us holy. This is beautiful and humbling. 

At the end of the gathering, we lined up to receive the bread and the wine and then a cross of ashes placed on our foreheads. I've never had that before and it was profoundly moving. In that moment, I felt my own smallness and frailty, but also the majesty and wonder of a God who would come down to save me. What a beautiful way to begin the season of Lent and the countdown to the renewal and resurrection of Easter.