Yesterday I went to the Ashe Wednesday service and it really made me stop and think about my life.  I am only ashes!  Really?  That’s it.  I am nothing but ashes.  When the priest put the ashes on my head and said, “Ashes you are from and ashes you will return”, it was such a profound moment for me.

I get so caught up in everyday life and ultimately at the end of the day my mind is focused on me.  How am I feeling, how is my family doing or did I accomplish everything I set out for today?  Which all of those questions are absolutely fine to ask myself, but it stops there for me.  I rarely ask myself the important questions.  How did my life glorify the creator today?  Did my life reflect the love of Christ today?  The truth is none of us are guaranteed life on earth tomorrow, heck not even life by the end of the day.  All of us will turn to ashes again.  So the only thing that really matters above all else is that we know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that when we return to ashes our spirits will be welcomed home for eternity.

“Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”                      2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So I would like to challenge you today to reflect on what the priest said to me, “Ashes you are from and ashes you will return.”

Honored to serve in Charlotte, North Carolina – Women’s Christian Life Coach