Forgotten Treasure

                                                   Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!!

                                      I hope you ate a lot of chocolate and celebrated with loved ones.

                                                                         And now....

                                                             Happy Lent!
Lent is a much forgotten jewel in the Christian's crown. It's the sort of thing that often gets classified only in the context of strange people who only eat fish on Friday for six weeks, and a vague notion of "giving something up..." Often, this involves giving up social media, sweets, or even something as nebulous as 'bad thought patterns.'

But yesterday, while the much of America enjoyed overpriced steaks in crowded restaurants, signed Hallmark cards, and gave lollipops with punny sayings to their children.....

I was in church with most of the world's Catholics, Lutherans, and Presbyterians.
We were celebrating something totally different.
Ash Wednesday.

There is nothing I can do to describe the feeling of going forward and having dirt smeared on your forehead as the pastor solemnly proclaims:
"Remember, you are dust
And to dust you shall return."

This morning I became aware of yesterday's tragic shooting, as a bitter, rejected young man shot and killed 17 people in his former high school. Many photos of the event show parents waiting in distraught horror....
Ashen crosses still on their foreheads from the morning's Ash Wednesday Mass.

I read the coverage here.... and it got me thinking.

When Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day fall on the same day, we the liturgical Church, have an opening. Let's talk. When a heartbreaking tragedy collides with both.... the Church steps forward.

Because, lets face it:
Nobody wants to talk about death.
Avoid it. Pretend it doesn't exist.
But, we'll never escape' them chilly waters.'

There have been 3 deaths at my church in 3 weeks.
All 3 were dear Christian ladies, ready to leave this painful world and go home.

Let's talk about my Christian homeschool friend, Jonah, who shot himself with his deer rifle.
He was only 16.
I was 14 when it happened.
But let's avoid it.

Could we talk about my friend Julian who was stabbed mercilessly (over 20 times) in the park?
I was still 14.

Or about my friend Najae from Rahab who got out of jail only to be shot brutally dozens of times?
She was left to die.
She never escaped 'them chilly waters.'
Let's pretend it doesn't exist.

But wait....
Remember.....

"You are dust,
And, to dust you shall return."

Grieving people wail that "They didn't deserve to die that way!" "They were "too young!"

Let's chat about my other friend: He was killed "too young," "before His time." He didn't deserve to be murdered. It's His ashes I wear on my forehead.

                                                                     Reminding me,
                                                                     As I sit in the dust:
                                                                     He sits with me.
                                                                     My Best Friend!
                                                                     My Lord and my God!