Ash Wednesday...

Last night I went to an Ash Wednesday service and ended up staying up till about midnight writing the following...

I don't ever really remember what Ash Wednesday is about and what the significance of the ashen cross on the forehead is all about .  I thought it was a bold proclamation of the fact that you are christian without having to ever say the actual words.  Well - only to those who may have managed to get a glimpse of it as you slink back home in the shadows...

The tiltle of the preaching last night Was 'Divine Dining' and the reading was from Matthew 6 v1-6; 16 v21.  The usual lent reading (that I must say I never recall reading at any other time of the year until lent comes round again!!).  I thought the teaching was REALLY good.

One thing stood out in particular...
It was the reminder of why, every year, we seem to come to this not-so-popular, non-present giving day in the Christian calendar that reminds us (as the preacher puts it) that we are nothing but dust and it is to that we shall return in the end!!

At the end of the service I just had to write the next little bit.  It is what I think and feel after the service, mixed in with some of what really stood out for me in the sermon.

Why do I always come back to this service?

"Each year I come back to this service as I desperatelyneed GOd's help.  I need his help to  distinguish between the ash (will will be blown away) and the diamonds (which is what God sees of what he has put in each of us).  I come back because I realise that what I see around me is mainly ash.  What I physically deem most important - is ash.  The materialistic and societal views and influences that I allow myself to be drawn into (image, wealth, status) are nothing more than just ash. 

I come back every year because I need God to remind me, walk me through and open my eyes so that I may see more diamonds around me.  That I may begin to distinguish and recognise which is which.  I come back because I believe the diamonds are there and that I was meant to see them."

This really resonated with me.  The honesty with which the sermon was delivered and shared was mindblowing.  The preacher really shared some of who he is, with us.
I want to find the diamonds among the ashes.

Isee in this a challenge that I am struggling to ignore.  A responsibility  that I signed up for a long time ago.  And a lifestyle that I should endeavour towards.

I want to begin to find the diamonds among the ashes.