Ash Wednesday Poem

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Today is Ash Wednesday, and so you must

Let go.

Let go of complexities you added to your life that now feel normal. You need much less than the commercials tell you.

Let go of responsibilities you set upon your own shoulders that do not belong there. You need not be so needed.

Let go of your dependence upon your own self. Rely on Jesus for steady companionship.

Let go distractions when you eat your next meal. Notice the fork in your hand, the taste of your food, the faces around the table. Notice what you notice.

Lent is a season of refining and renewing, none of which is easy, yet it does make life simpler. This liturgical season calls you back to remember and to be re-membered with the body of Christ. Your life is nothing more than dust. Ashes. Broken pieces.

Let go of your assumption that somehow you will be the one who figures out how to live forever. You won’t. This life is precious for mortals made of dust and ashes. There is little time for distractions.

Let go, beloved child of our Maker. There is life to be lived in the abundance of less.

Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash