Ash Wednesday - Lenten Journey
Ash Wednesday is one of the hardest days for me. It is one of that hardest days because it is one of the days in which I actually go up to each of the people who I care about and serve within the flock that God has given to me to remind them that they will one day be placed into the ground. That they will indeed cease walking this Earth.
I first experienced this within my year of Internship. The night of Ash Wednesday was both shocking and emotional. I could hardly believe it but I realized as I went to each person how I could possibly bury each one of them. I could preside at their funeral. It made me really stop and realize just how precious life truly is. Just how much I cared for each one of the people.
Tonight was no different. Going up to each person, I was reminded of how much life is truly a gift. How it is not something that should be taken lightly while at the same time it should not be locked away into a cage to be protected. Whether the person was a child or a grandparent, it is hard to remind someone that they do not know how many days they may have left. To remind them that they are dust and to dust they shall return. It is not easy to remind people of God's work within their life. So often the places blur where God is acting and we are receiving then we are reacting. It is not clear.
However, tonight begins the journey. The journey of Lent, of self-reflection and being reminded of that First Commandment (The Lord your God is one, you shall have no other gods before Him.) That I am indeed mortal and truly wanting to know what God wants me to do with my life along with making sure that I am living a life that God would be pleased with.
I first experienced this within my year of Internship. The night of Ash Wednesday was both shocking and emotional. I could hardly believe it but I realized as I went to each person how I could possibly bury each one of them. I could preside at their funeral. It made me really stop and realize just how precious life truly is. Just how much I cared for each one of the people.
Tonight was no different. Going up to each person, I was reminded of how much life is truly a gift. How it is not something that should be taken lightly while at the same time it should not be locked away into a cage to be protected. Whether the person was a child or a grandparent, it is hard to remind someone that they do not know how many days they may have left. To remind them that they are dust and to dust they shall return. It is not easy to remind people of God's work within their life. So often the places blur where God is acting and we are receiving then we are reacting. It is not clear.
However, tonight begins the journey. The journey of Lent, of self-reflection and being reminded of that First Commandment (The Lord your God is one, you shall have no other gods before Him.) That I am indeed mortal and truly wanting to know what God wants me to do with my life along with making sure that I am living a life that God would be pleased with.
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