What Stinks Wednesday?

Well, today is Ash Wednesday, so that doesn’t stink. And since I’m giving up complaining for Lent, I will skip my What Stinks post, and tell you more about Lent, why it is important to me, and how I am planning to observe or celebrate it.
So, what is Ash Wednesday?  It’s the first Wednesday after Shrove or Fat Tuesday (another special day).
It’s the first day of Lent, according to the Christian Calendar.  It’s the beginning of the 46 days before Easter.  If you’re of the faith which practices Lent, and the tradition of fasting or sacrifice, (and you are active) you are giving something up, or are fasting.
So what does Ash Wednesday mean?  Well, in our faith, we go to church and the minister teaches us about sin, temptation and humanity, and the minister puts ashes on our foreheads.  Some ministers repeat a verse or phrase as they apply the ashes.  In the past, our minister said, “From dust you came, to dust you will return.” In Bible times, people sprinkled ashes on and clothed themselves with sackcloth when they were grieving.  People fasted to show the Lord that they were serious, they were willing to go without food for their bodies, to accomplish whatever it was that they were trying to do.  And so, on Lent, we show our remembrance in several ways.

Personally, in my life, Ash Wednesday, has been a sobering reminder of all that I didn’t get done, all the things that I did wrong, all the marks that I missed.  It is a chance to remember that I am not perfect, I am human, and I will never be more than dust.  I don’t say that to be degrading or depressing; it’s a fact.  This world teaches us to assert ourselves, to talk over others, to make requests, to push to be the best.  Mistakes are judged, and even the people who seem closest to perfection are so far from it.  We have lived so long without God that we don’t even know what perfection is.  And so, Ash Wednesday restarts the clock, reminds us to try again to give up our selves, our selfish desires, our personal agendas, and trade it for the one true thing that matters.

And so it should be with the remainder of Lent.  We reflect, we think, we ponder the gift that was given us before we even realize we need it.  That supreme ultimate sacrifice of one man, for millions, billions, so many years ago.

For Lent, I’m giving up complaining.  I have to start small,  One hour at a time, because it seems like the past month, complaining has become my pastime.  But I don’t want it to be.  I may sacrifice other things too, but for today, complaining will probably be the most difficult thing I’ve done in a very long time!