Tonight is our Ash Wednesday service. 6pm at The Chapel. We will keep the service at 60 minutes or less. If you are free, I hope you will join us for this kick of the season of Lent. A season of prayer and fasting, of refinement and reflection, and of journeying with Jesus to the cross. The service will be similar to a Sunday morning worship service. Songs, scripture, teaching and we will end with a time receiving ashes on your hand or on your forehead if you so choose.
Right after we sort out the candy, take down the cobwebs and spooky decorations, and toss the rotting pumpkin from our front porch, Sarah is ready to decorate for Christmas and start drinking Peppermint Mochas.
I, on the other hand, am a traditionalist. I need to wait another four weeks or so, watch Santa glide past Macy’s on a Thursday morning, and eat an unhealthy amount of carbs before I’m ready to prepare my heart and mind for Christmas.
We can’t wait to celebrate and remember Jesus stepping into creation. We jump at the opportunity to look toward the little town of Bethlehem. We love the traditions of counting down the days and indulging in the treats of the season.
But Easter feels different.
I want to talk about a few things. Valentine’s Day, Ash Wednesday, Lent, and parking this Sunday for worship. But before we get there…
I don’t usually try to commit crimes or do illegal things…but sometimes it happens.
The other day I was waiting at a stoplight behind another large car trying to turn out on 98. I couldn’t actually see the light around this massive vehicle, but my car has one of those fancy sensors that tells you when the car in front of you drives off. I think it’s to help you when you are not paying attention and missing a green light because you were distracted by your phone, your kids, or daydreaming. So instead of the person behind you honking since you aren’t paying attention, your car beeps at you since you aren’t paying attention.
A few weeks ago, our son Foster was under the weather. Nothing terrible or wildly concerning. Just an unusually high temp and small cough. We did all the tests and everything came back negative. Most days he would act totally fine, but then get worn down and still have a fever. Fortunately it was a holiday weekend, so he didn’t miss as much school, but he had still been home, sick for almost a full week. Rotating fever reducers, giving him electrolyte filled drinks with soups and orange juice. Every time we’d take his temp, it was constantly bouncing around in the 100’s. As a parent, you start to wonder…am I doing something wrong?
Will our life ever get back to a normal rhythm?
Will we be making soups and orange juice for this kid forever?