The Ashes on My Hand: A Prayer to Begin Lent
God–I’m so tired of Lent.
I’m tired of the individualistic religiosity I see in others
and especially in me
I am so frustrated by the Christianity I see on TV
Saddened when I listen to political debates
It is so much easier to point to others and
call out their sin
But my brokenness is often so close to my heart that I can’t,
or won’t, see it
In other years the ashes have been splayed on my forehead,
a message as much for others and for myself
But today the ashes went on my hand as the minister said,
“Consider yourself dead to sin and alive in Jesus Christ”
Is this what Ash Wednesday supposed to feel like?
I don’t feel like I can start again.
I feel like I’m in the same place I was
But now the sign of Jesus is marked by the ashes on my hand
I take a deep breath
and go onward
Kyrie eleison
Kyrie eleison
Kryie eleison
