Ashes

"Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You turn people back to dust,  saying, ‘Return to dust, you mortals.’ A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night." 

Psalm 90:1-4 (NIVUK)

A colleague today was speaking about her grief and losses and how they linger on even as life moves on. We both observed that we do indeed live in brevity. We are like puffs of smoke, vapour that appears for a time, then fades away. We are ash and dust. Today is ash Wednesday. Eastern Orthodox Christians, among others, call Lent a season of ‘bright sadness’. It is a time of repentance, a time to recognise our mortality, and a time to think on Christ's death on the cross. It can be a painful time, but the light still shines. In Him, we have our dwelling-place. In Him, we find our hope.

"He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord."   

Psalm 113:7,9 (NIVUK)