We are well into the season of Lent which we celebrate as the forty days before easter, excluding Sundays.  We began Lent on Ash Wednesday with a service of ashes but there may be lingering questions such as...What's with the ashes?  I found a website that may help us in our understanding and may even encourage us in our questioning.

Rev. Dr. Lynn E. Shurley, Jr. First Presbyterian Church, Paducah, Kentucky says:  Last year's palm branches served as banners to pave the way as Jesus entered Jerusalem and Holy Week began.  They come to us this day [Ash Wednesday] as ashes to mark our foreheads and our lives for Christ's claim and service this Lenten season

• to usher us into a holy season of reflection and penitence;

• to remind us that the most well-intended "Hosanna!" can fade into the cruelest "Crucify!"

• to reassure us that even from ashes new life can arise, even out of "Crucify!" can come "He is risen!" even out of disappointment and broken dreams can come forgiveness and hope for the future.

We wear the ashes of last year's palms on today's foreheads to recognize the eternal witness of those whose mortality has been blessed by the sacrificed and risen Lord; to remind ourselves and witnesses to others of that great cloud of saints that surrounds, upholds, challenges, and empowers us through this season and all the seasons of our lives; and to celebrate our place among their ranks for the benefit of future ash-wearers.

With last year's ashes on our foreheads, we who experience agony and death profess before all we see that we truly worship, serve, glorify, and enjoy a God of mystery, power, and life in the company of those before us, those around us, and those who will follow us

As we walk through these forty days of discipline, devotion, and preparation, may we, indeed, find "light for the journey" and good company as we seek the presence of the Holy in our midst and in everything we do.

Provided by http://www.FaithandValues.com  "light for the journey"