A reflection for this Lenten season…

“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”

Too often we hear thse words solely as a reminder that we are creatures destined to one day leave this world to meet our God and to answer for our lives.  What if these words speak a more profound, beautiful truth?

Most of us tend to think of dust as little more than an annoyance.  Yet geologists tell us that dust actually matters – a lot!! Nutrient-rich dust, carried by winds moving across the created world supports life thousands of miles away, creating environments in which precious rainforest vegetation and microscopic plants in the depths of the seas can flourish.  What if our Ash Wednesday reminder “remember that you are dust” tells us that that we are that kind of dust?  Dust with a purpose?  Dust that can be used by God to nurture and nourish life??

If we are that kind of dust, then we are surely beloved creations of God, part of an amazing world.  Knowing that we are that kind of dust frees us from our human tendency to pretend we are perfect and self-sufficient.  And if we are that kind of dust, maybe everyone else is that kind of dust also.  In that case, maybe we shouldn’t demand that everyone else measure up to our standards of perfection.   After all.. who are we?? Perhaps we can finally learn to afford ourselves and each other respect and care and support, knowing that we are all sacred dust!

As you rise each morning of this Lenten season and look in the mirror, remind yourself that you are Sacred Dust.  You are a beloved creation of God, completely dependent upon God.  Let that truth free you from vanity and pride and pretention that day.  For imperfect as we are, we are all instruments of God, entrusted with the task of nurturing and nourishing life.  Being sacred dust is a wondrous thing!