This was my first Ash Wednesday to impose ashes. What an event. I did not realize what a moving experience this would be. As a looked into the eyes of various individuals, both young and old, I was moved by the manner in which we all come to Ash Wednesday broken. We come needing something, wanting something, and seeking it in the comfort of a community of faith. I knelt down this evening a placed the sign of the cross on a fourth grade girl. On one side was her mother and on the other side knelt her grandmother. Three generations came to a place of worship to begin a journey to the cross with Christ. Reminded of our humanity, our mortality, and the shortness of life, the work of the Holy Spirit was active in Prattville, Alabama tonight. Hearts were joined together. People offered all that they had; "a broken and contrite heart. From dust we were born and from dust we will return. That was the message. Tonight Easter Sunday is in the far far far distant future. To get to that day we must journey to the cross, witness the sacrifice, wait in anticipation, and find hope in the empty tomb. It is a long journey. It is a tiring process, but let us begin it. Let us begin the lenten journey; offering our "broken and contrite hearts" to the God who Creates, Redeems, and Sustains throughout our journey of life.
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