Today was an exciting day in my house. When my two year old son woke up this morning
he was ready to tell us, “It’s Valentine’s Day!” He was going to be celebrating at daycare,
and my wife was going to take him to a celebration at the school she works at. The previous evening we had spent time
getting all his Valentines together, and today was a day of excitement, energy,
and lots of candy… What is better than that?
However, the question came up about what I would
be doing this Valentine’s Day. It was a
good question, because I would not be around much. I was celebrating Ash Wednesday at the
church. (Normally, my whole family attends these events, but the services took
place after he had gone to bed…) Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the
Lenten season, and I’ve discovered it is much harder to explain than Valentine’s
Day! In some ways, it seems like
Valentine’s and Ash Wednesday are two totally different events that shouldn’t
really collide. Pink hearts don’t mix
with ashes do they?
However, the more I thought about it, Ash
Wednesday is really about Love. It is a
day that marks the beginning of Christ’s journey to the cross for us. In fact, I think this is the perfect day to
remember how deeply we are loved. We
remember that God came to this world to die for us. If we really believe in that kind of love,
then we should share it with all the people around us.
I hope in this Lenten season we are not
swallowed by despair… Instead, I hope you remember this is season all about
Love. We didn’t do anything to deserve
it, but God gave everything for us. I
hope you can also take a little time to show your love to others!
Blessings!
Brian
