Ashes to ashes

Ash Wednesday - a time for confession and remembering how much we need God, and thanking Him for forgiving us. I've never really recognised this day before, except as the beginning of Lent, but at student group this evening we burned our palm crosses from last year and put the ashes on our foreheads.

It's interesting how in Biblical times, when showing distress, people would tear their clothes and put dust and ashes on their heads - we do nothing of the sort in our culture, but try to make ourselves look happy and normal as usual. It all adds to the mask effect - we want to look ok, we want people to think we're ok, even if we're not. I think it would be much healthier if we showed physical signs of distress rather than trying to bottle it up all the time.

Enjoyed taking photos of these dying tulips today - they were so pretty with the light shining through them.

For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life. Psalm 56:13