Dust to Dust...

        Ash Wednesday used to be my least favorite day of the year... My attempts to convince my parents to leave me at home when they left for the service were always in vain.  I would complain about the greasy, crusty feeling ashes being wiped on my forehead and I really didn't want to spend an hour talking about how someday I was going to die.  The service always seemed like a funeral, maybe my funeral, and it was something I wasn't interested in being a part of.
        I can't exactly say when my opinion changed. In High School, when basketball games were scheduled consistently on Ash Wednesday every year, I started to go in and get my ashed before cheering at the games.  The first time I missed the service, I asked to get my ashed out of habit rather than a deep need for them.  I called my pastor and asked if he was around in the afternoon (although I already knew he would be) and drove over to church to receive my ashes and pray.  I started to gain a new understanding through those 3 special Wednesdays of the meaning of my ashes.
        Per tradition, ashes remind me of my unavoidable death.  Yes, I came from dust and I will return to the dust one day.  This I have accepted as a fact BUT this is not the main point of my ashes.  My ashes remind me to LIVE!  I only have one life, given to me and blessed by God and I need to constantly remember to "live like we're dying", live without regret, live for those I care about, for the future I want, for those I want to help.  One way that I do this is telling the people I care about the most "I love you" every time I talk to them.  This might seem a little overwhelming... some people claim that when you over say "I love you" it doesn't mean anything anymore.  I disagree.  I think when you mean it each time you say it, you need to say it as much as possible.  You never know when the last time will be that you can say those words to someone you can't live without.
        As we celebrate this Ash Wednesday, do something to LIVE... tell someone that you love them, make a difference in someones life (try smiling at a new face), go skydiving... whatever you can.  "Life is a book... write a story worth reading"... "live like you are dying"... and give all the glory to Him who saves you!

You Only Lose When You Quit

Through what is rough and exhausting, it often seems like the best plan would be to give up.  I would definitely love to just drive home and abandon the tests and projects that stare me down while I go about my life.  Other, "more fun" options lay in front of me, making it easy to distract myself when I am presented with daunting work.  I watch some TV, pack for vacation, shop online... all of these things that may help me in the now but aren't going to get me very far a month down the road.  Senioritis has struck and it is difficult to pick back up and continue pressing on in the face of change and anticipation of other good.  It is a lot like getting a cold, sometimes you just do not think it will be possible to shake it, you feel sluggish, unmotivated, distracted. Although no virus may be present, it seems like it will never go away and to stay in bed or just go home seem like a better option than facing the "MEGA" senior paper, article reviews or studying for a huge test... why bother? More is just on the way, right?

Hebrews 12:12-13 says: Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

God has promised to strengthen us in our weaknesses... even when it seems impossible to begin.  Other factors of life might seem to hold us to the ground and pin us where we are, keeping us from moving forward... remaining in the place that we are as long as possible because it relieves just a little stress, a little burden, a little agony.  In Hebrews, God asks us to make the first move.  To lift up our drooping hands and strengthen our weak knees... make a plan, straighten the path... be ready for God to lead you on the path.  Finding that first bit of motivation can be hard and usually does not come in a timely manner.  A professor told my class once that motivation is often the cart and the horse is work... starting on the path will give you the motivation to continue down it in order to complete the job.  I think this is absolutely true... and strengthening ourselves, starting at the work is the way to make ourselves ready for God to lead us and heal us on the long path.  We can do it!  Never quit... Just START!  God will help you with the rest!