Reflections on Lent: A picture is worth a thousand words

Excuse Me, You Have Something On Your Forehead

Last year was the first year I'd actually gone to an Ash Wednesday service and received the ashes. I left them there though I was a little uncomfortable, especially after a sweet co-worker said the quote above (I'm not being sarcastic, he was genuinely confused.) My discomfort was more for others who would say this and then immediately feel awful about it. It was not me being ashamed of my faith as much as feeling that faith is something people should notice in my actions.

But then I began to think, what is it about the action that made him uncomfortable. Is it an inner inkling that they aren't living the type of life they'd hoped. That they felt ignorant? That they wondered why on earth you'd follow such thing? Maybe that uncomfortableness is what opens the door to another conversation, a conversation that could go further and farther than just the normal office banter.

So during this Lenten season, I want others to see Christ in me. I want my words to be few and my life to be loud. What do you want?