My love for Ash Wednesday goes deep. I genuinely love the call to better a part of your life. Really, could bettering a part of your life have a bad outcome? I also love a challenge and I enjoy diving into a new routine.
Last night was our Ash Wednesday service. A time where we gather together, reflect on these 40 days leading up to Easter, take communion as a body of believers, and receive ashes. This year was the first year in many that I wasn’t able to go to the service. Our sweet baby Kait is pushing limits of sweet and she has no desire to be quiet or sit through and more serious church service. So the girls and I stayed home while Mark went and helped serve in the Ash Wednesday service. Yes, I was bummed. Yes, I was sad to miss it. And yes, I still was going to participate in the season of Lent.
I just didn’t realize I would still be participating in the acts of Ash Wednesday.
Mark walks in the door, arms full, carrying communion and ashes. My heart stopped. My eyes welled up with tears. He came home to serve me, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said “I know how much you love this practice and I am sorry you weren’t able to be a part of it tonight. I thought we could do it together.”
Not only did he fill my heart with love as he served my emotional heart he filled my heart with love as he filled my spiritual longing to be a part of the body of Christ.
We called the girls downstairs, and there we stood, in the dining room, a mess everywhere, and we spoke of Jesus and His love for His people. We walked through the 40 days, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. And then as a family we took communion and received ashes to mark the beginning of our Lenten journey. As one. As a body of Christ. As a family.
Oh how I wish I could have a picture of this moment. There is a snapshot in my head and I would do just about anything to never let it fade away.
We are one. One body serving the God who redeems our souls. This Lenten season will never be forgotten.