Ash Wednesday

Prayer: Yes, definitely.  As soon as I woke up.

Scripture: Yes, both on the computer and at Ash Wednesday service (Ps 103 or 103:8-14; Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21)

Silence: Yes, just before 6:30 a.m.

The Day/The Deed: I had every expectation that today, the first day of Lent and Ash Wednesday — the official kick-off of this do-unto-others experiment — would look something like this:

But instead today was more along the lines of this:

Thank goodness for some serious heavenly hand-holding! I enjoyed total silence this morning for nearly 10 minutes without even wondering how — and most importantly when — I was going to do it. Then, when I checked my email, the first thing that popped up was a note from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (I’m on their mailing list so I can stalk them for Resident stories) containing the Lenten readings.

I prayerfully asked God to show me his blessings today.

And…do you hear me snapping? That’s how long it took for today’s good deed to unfold. Just like [insert snap].

Here’s how it went down: When I went out to get the paper this morning, I saw a man from the next street over walking past our house. He usually walks briskly each morning, pumping hand weights and putting us all to shame with his early morning enthusiasm. But today he was just — walking. His wife died last week. I’ve been meaning to share my sympathies with him for days. And true to form, I told myself I would do something about that when I had more time to do it.

That obviously was not the answer God was looking for this morning. As I was hustling the kids into their shoes and braiding hair, I glanced out the front door and guess what? My mourning neighbor walked by for a SECOND loop! This time, the not-so-subtle hint did not go by unnoticed. After the kids left, I made some “almost as good as homemade” cookies and put them on a plate. I wrote my neighbor a note and told him how much I admired his wife’s friendly ways and how his commitment to daily walking inspired me to start my own morning running routine.  And instead of leaving them on his doormat like I wanted to do, I rang the doorbell. We spoke a few words, he smiled, I left. It wasn’t hard, it didn’t take much time and it felt — right.

As in, “Right on!” (All Saints friends will get that — for anyone who hasn’t experienced an All Saints service ender “hallelujah, right on,” you should!)

Words of encouragement/advice:

Some words on praying from Texas-Gal-Takes-Florida, a friend who I adore seeing most Sundays at church. She is smart and thoughtful about her faith, and has a great tip on how to do the P part of PSS better:

“A long time ago, the priest at my church in Texas gave a sermon about how to pray. He used the acronym PRAY...

P - praise Him - I usually say the Lord's Prayer or Doxology. Sometimes old Bible school songs pop in my head!

R - reflect - thank Him for the day... What went well, blessings.

A - ask - sometimes thanking Him for blessings causes me to forget that I needed/wanted something for myself.  But I do always have my list of people that I keep on my prayer list.

Y - yearn - I ask God to stay with me always.”

And this from a friend who always has uplifting thoughts  —  (and she always shares them in a fun color!)

"This morning I'm wondering how the world would shift if we Christians let go of our obsession with being "right" and just sunk into grace.  Having a gleam in our eyes and a giggle in our voices?  The same way Obama captured us with his HOPE. Governor Christy (NJ) is capturing our attention with his level headedness and humor.

"The JOYof the Lord is our strength?"  I'm going for it.

Final thoughts: I felt prepared and ready this morning, and a moment of grace ensued. It felt right, joyful. Then one thing led to another…

…and I felt all consumed again by “my stuff —“ who had to be where when and wrapping up deadlines. That did not feel right or joyful. But it’s necessary?