Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Hearts and ashes...

"...Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God."
Joel 2:13

 Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day have not fallen on the same day since 1945.  That tells me something right there. It tells me that this Lent must be especially about Love this year, 2018.  Think about the spring of 1945 when war was still raging throughout the world. God heard the cries of the war-weary world and yearned for love as much as the people did. Now, in our time, there seems to be such an absence of love and care for the poor and those in the margins of our world. We seem so divided and oppositional on everything. I think the Lenten calendar is telling us again, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love." As we go around with ashes on our foreheads this day, how can we bring more love, sweet love to the hurting planet? Can what we plan to do for Lent help someone else? Can our prayer, fasting and alms-giving bring the world closer to healing? Can we care for the earth better? Can we love the Hard Ones better? Can we fall deeper in love with God? If it all sounds like a tall order, it is. But it's worth the effort!  If I had my way, I would ask the person who places the ashes on my forehead to draw a little heart this year...to remind me to love! Love, heidi

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