Most toddlers are fascinated with potties. I watched Mattie walk towards the potty one
day carrying a plastic ball in each hand and shaking her head “no, no” as she
walked faster and faster towards the bathroom.
She stopped, looked in the potty, looked at me, screamed “no, no” and slam
dunk both balls landed in the potty!
Our hearts often say, “no, no,” but
our actions are reflective of something else.
Over and over again, we make the wrong choice and we say or do the wrong
thing. In moments of frustration, I yell
at my kids instead of taking a deep breath.
When I am in a hurry, I neglect quality time with God in order to get my
to-do list completed. When I am tired, I
am irritable with those around me. I
need days like Ash Wednesday to remind me of my sinful nature and my need for
God’s grace. To remind me that I fall
short and that I am not always loving. I
need to remember that I do not have it all together. I need to acknowledge that I am broken. I need to hear the words: repent and return
to remind me that God desires for restoration, reconciliation, and renewal. Lent is a journey inward offering us a chance to remove the obstacles that keep us from fully living into a deep relationship with God. These 40 days remind us of the second chance we have been offered because of God’s great love. Many of us will receive ashes on our foreheads today to remind us that apart from God we are nothing but dust. At the end of our Lenten journey, toddlers will continue to be fascinated with potties and all will continue to sin and fall short from the glory of God, but we can emerge changed and recommitted to faithfulness.
Psalm 51: 1-12
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being;[a]
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing[c] spirit.
and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing[c] spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment