“The Way Back”
Sometimes things happen in our lives that cause us to awaken to a new perspective, and we begin to reassess the life road we are following, the directions we are going. Ash Wednesday is a time in the church where we talk of “repentance” which literally means to turn around and head in a new direction. It is also a time when we receive ashes in the sign of the cross on our foreheads, a traditional sign of our own mortality and the necessity of making this life purposeful.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit…….O God of my salvation, my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.”
Excerpts from Psalm 51: 10-15
“Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.”
Excerpts from Joel 2: 12-29
Questions to ponder this week:
How do we know the direction of our lives?
What is it like to walk with Jesus?
What is the scariest road you’ve ever been on?