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When I was a little girl, maybe 5 years old, Josie and Herman’s house across the road burned to the ground.  I watched.  It was scary and sad.

Josie, our neighbor, sat on our porch with us and wept as she saw the roof collapse in flames.

The day after the fire, I saw her standing in the middle of what had once been her home.  I imagine she was crying and wondered what would become of her and the family.

I imagine at some point her husband, Herman, put his arms around her and said, “We can rebuild.”  And they did.  Months later, a new home stood where the ashes had been.

The good news of Ash Wednesday and Lent is that we can, with God’s help, rebuild and become more and more the person God wants us to be.  We have disappointed and hurt God, other people, God’s natural world and ourselves.  However, through the cross, Jesus says to each one of us, “I love you.  I forgive you.  Now go and be the person I created you to be.”

God help us to say, at the beginning of Lent and every day, “Here I am!  Mold me, make me and create in me a new heart.”  Amen.

One of the actions associated with Lent is fasting.  Please see, Fasting and Feasting for ideas on what to “give-up” and what to “add” to your life during the Lenten Season.

Photo Credit:  Kannan B