When did I stop going for ashes?
Why did I stop going for ashes?
Was there a reason?
Will I go this year?
Why might I go this year?
Why not go this year?
Why go any year?
Why ashes?
As a matter of fact, getting ashes means:
Ashes are for people like me,
act without thinking,
make poor choices,
tell lies,
take the wrong path,
make selfish decisions
and (often) do the wrong thing:
sometimes little wrongthings
Ashes are for people like me,
who forget what’s really important,
who let things slide
– even a lot…
Ashes are for folks like me
who sometimes hurt others,
who sometimes even hurt the people they love…
Ashes are for imperfect, broken people,
for people like me
even when they know what the right thing is…
Ashes are for people like me
people who take too many short cuts,
Ashes are for people just like me
who keep silent when they ought to speak up…
Going to church and getting ashes
probably won’t turn my life around overnight
but it could be a step,
in a new direction,
on a path I sometimes think I want to follow
but have a hard time finding,
– a path I often stray from…
Getting ashes this Wednesday
just might be the beginning
of mending my relationship with God,
my relationships with some people in my life
– my relationship with myself…
Getting ashes this Wednesday might help me
take an honest look at things in my life:
things I really need to think about,
things I need to pay attention to,
things I need to let go of,
things I need to embrace,
things and relationships I need to
Getting ashes this Wednesday might feel kinda strange,
and I might be a little embarrassed
when others see my smudged forehead:
and what if they make fun of me
Well, I could just be honest,
taking a little personal inventory,
considering, trying, to make some changes
and I thought this might be a time,
a way,
a place to start…
Me in church?
Me getting ashes?
Hey! It could happen!
I know it won’t hurt
and it just might be good to give it a try,
to give it a chance:
to give God and me a chance
at a new beginning…
So, Lord, even if it’s been a long time
since the last time I got ashes,
I’m going to church tomorrow:
to say a prayer,
to get my forehead smudged,
to reconnect with you
and take a first step on a path
I’ve been wanting, even needing, to walk…
And since I know that by tomorrow
I’ll think of a dozen reasons not to go to church:
give me a nudge, Lord, a shove,
a kick in the butt or whatever it takes
for me to take that first step,
on Ash Wednesday…
See you tomorrow, Lord!