New Thing: Ash Wednesday Meditations and "Know Chocolate"
Inspiration: Ash Wednesday
Cost: $0
Time: All Day
Bottom Line: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Reflection: Today was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I actually love this season with its rich symbolism and having a space to clear out all the extemporaneous stuff in our lives that keep us from meditation on our relationship with Christ and his gift to us. These 40 days are work, but they are also a deep joy.
This year feels different to me somehow. I can't quiet explain it, but perhaps the message I am to glean will only be manifested after 40 days. Anyway, today was a very busy day. We had seven services. Confessing over and over again, as well as contemplating mortality and the fragility of human existence (which are some of the themes of this service) helped me to really settle into Lent. By the end of the day, I was truly in that Lenten state of mind.
In fact, one of my new things for the day was our Family dinner and service which we will be doing every Wednesday in Lent. It is called "Know Chocolate" and we will be using chocolate as a way to understand how Christ works in our life. of course, there is chocolate at the end ;) I have never attended a Children's Ash Wednesday service before. Although there were some slightly crazy moments, there were also some extremely powerful moments. When it came time to put Ashes on Delia's head, I was struck by how hard it is to make a pronouncement about your own toddlers mortality. I did not want to be reminded that "she is dust and to dust she shall return," but then again, we all are. And there is a comfort in that reality.
A word about my Lenten disciplines for this year--I am actually pretty shy about sharing these. When I was going up, I had an Evangelical friend who told me that I should never share what we were giving up for Lent because then we would be like the hypocrites in Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 (the Gospel reading for the Ash Wednesday Liturgy) who like to fast in public so that others would think that they were very pious. I don't share his view and actually think that we should help each other keep a Holy Lent in community. But, I still remember that every year, and have often keep my Lenten journey quietly. However, part of this experiment is to be more open and to share how I am living in the moment day-by-day. So, I will share my journey this year and I hope you will feel free to do the same.
For Lent this year, I will be continuing a tradition that I started years ago--praying for a certain person every day at least 4 times a day (during the Daily Office). I pray for people who have made an impact on my life--those whom I love, those who I need to learn to love, those who are alive, and some who are gone. This year, I am also adding a little something new into the mix. During one of my prayer times, I will be creating a little piece of abstract art as a way to stay fully present in the pray moment. This technique is inspired by the "praying in color" book that I have mentioned in previous blogs and the colors and patterns make meaning where words may fall short. When it is appropriate, I will be sending the piece of art to them. I will also spend at least 10 minuets every day either walking or doing yoga, eating moderately, and spending some time journaling with Ken every day. Finally, I will be spending 30 minuets a day playing music on one of my three often neglected instruments--the piano, guitar, and violin.
beautiful and inspiring!
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