Ashes to Ashes

Today is my birthday. It is also Ash Wednesday. A day when we are reminded of our need, our Hope, and our identity - all in two swoops of a thumb on our forehead.

Ash Wednesday has only fallen on my birthday one other time since I've been alive, and the two don't coincide again for well beyond my life expectancy.

I actually find it pretty profound to receive ashes on the same day that I celebrate my birth. The paradox of celebrating life and remembering death, and then again choosing Life is not lost on me. Entering this season as I embrace a new year of life feels right. "Happy birthday, Tarissa. From ashes you have come, and to ashes you will return. Turn from your sin and believe the Good News."

Amen.