Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

It is an important day of the year for me. Yes, because Duke is about to whoop up on the Tarheels. But, more importantly, because it is Ash Wednesday.

In my adult life, I have come to love and appreciate this church holiday; it is one that speaks to me in deep and profound ways. I was not able to attend a service today, so as part of my Lenten discipline, I decided to look back through some of my blog, journal, and church newsletter posts that have touched on this day, and this season. I spent time shifting my perspective and my mindset-- focusing not on the work I had to do or the house I had to clean or the Valentine candy I should have bought for friends, but on the start of a season that is always formative for me.

As I was reading, I came across this Lenten post I wrote while serving with a medical mission team in Kenya few years ago. My time in Africa was one of the most influential and deeply transformative times in my life, so I thought I would share, remembering today that we are dust, but rejoicing that that is not our whole story.

Ashes to Ashes,
Amanda


Monday, March 23, 2009

Friends,

It just before 6am and all is quiet in the Kenyan world. We are all awake and preparing to start a day of medical clinics in the more rural areas away from the hospital, praying that we will be able to offer some healing to the bodies and spirits of these children. Today the site is a little farther away and we must travel the bumpy roads by van... thus, our day is beginning early.

Have I mentioned before that Kenya is a dusty land? I am not certain that "dusty" is even the right word--the road dust is so deep and thick that it covers everything like a red blanket. It is the end of their dry season and the land is desperate with thirst. The rainy season should have begun about 2 weeks ago, and it is evident that the people, the animals, and the crops are suffering in the dry barrenness of this land.

As we drive or walk down the roads, we too become covered from head to toe in the grittiness of this dust, and must return home each night to scrub ourselves down in the showers (when there is water supply) as a way to remember what color our hair and skin actually are.

Ah, is this not the perfect picture of Lent? As we celebrate this season, many of us only remember the time of dust on Ash Wednesday. However, I wonder if we, too, are like the Kenyan landscape. Our hearts and souls and faith are dry and barren and so covered with grit that only water can wash us clean. As we look towards Easter in the next few weeks, this is a time for us to remember our dust. Remember that without God, we came from dust and to dust we shall return. It is a time to be reminded that we can become so covered in dirt that we do not remember what we look like underneath, so much so that we need a holy shower. The good news is that with the coming of Easter, we are able to remember our baptisms and the grace that washes us clean. I pray today that you are reminded of your dust... and your baptism that washes you clean.

We love you all and are praying for you often.

Remembering my baptism,
Amanda