➕From Dust: We Begin Again
A Gentle Guide for Entering Lent
This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. I find myself approaching yet another Lent with an exhaustion I can feel in my bones.
I don’t need a reminder that death surrounds us—I see it in every headline, feel it in every unanswered prayer.
Some years, Ash Wednesday feels like an invitation. A gentle beckoning to slow down, to zoom out, to consider the vastness of humanity, mortality, and eternity.
Other years, Ash Wednesday is less an invitation and more a validation.
Maybe it’s not a banner proclaiming, Don’t forget—you’re going to die! but a well-worn throw pillow whispering, Yes, you are bone tired. Being human is hard.
What if we approached this season with raw honesty instead of trying to muster up the energy for a devotional plan or a perfectly structured Lenten practice?
Many of us spend our days caring for others, yet a quiet question arises beneath the surface: Who will care for me?
And beneath that, an even deeper one we hardly dare name: Am I worth being cared for?
Year of Breath
Lent invites us to slow down and remember what is real and true, but in the noise of everyday life, that can feel impossible. Maybe you long for a season of reflection but don’t know where to start. Maybe you feel too weary to add one more thing to your plate.
If you’re looking for a gentle guide into Lent, the full version of this newsletter (we call it Year of Breath) offers a simple, thoughtful way to step into this season with intention:
An Ash Wednesday playlist to set the tone for reflection
Daily breath prayers to ground you in God’s presence
Guided reflection questions to help you thoughtfully engage the beginning of Lent
A simple, embodied practice to mark the beginning of Lent
A breath prayer phone wallpaper to carry a reminder of mercy with you
For a limited time, I’m offering 30% off a paid subscription, so you can access everything for Lent at a lower cost. You can access all the archives, feel good about helping me pay for my kids’ groceries, and cancel anytime—no pressure.
I’d love for you to journey through this season with us or get a group subscription with a friend or small group.
Touching the Dust
What if you brought your whole self—your aching bones, your weary body, your one big, broken, still-beating heart—to the table before the One who once held bread in his hands and said, This is my body, broken for you?
Because when we acknowledge our own limits—when we sit with the truth that our time in this beautiful, fractured world is finite—we can also rest in the deeper truth that God will never leave us.
Not in our fear. Not in our exhaustion. Not in the places where we feel most fragile.
Even in this season of repentance, reflection, and remembering our smallness, God whispers, You are beloved. I am making you whole.
Lent invites us to receive a truth we often avoid: From dust we are formed, and to dust we will return (Ecclesiastes 3:20). As people of God, we are shaped by the story of resurrection, but Lent reminds us that we do not rush past the weight of being human.
We sit in it. We feel it. We let it do its work in us.
Because there is no life apart from death.
There is no resurrection without the tomb.
Reading Plan
As we journey through Lent together, I’m grateful to share this printable March 2025 reading plan.
This plan follows the rhythms of the liturgical calendar. It includes dates and readings that align with Lent, directing you to prayers and reflections from Every Season Sacred and To Light Their Way.
You can use it as a daily touchpoint, a grounding moment with your family, or a simple way to slow down and reflect during this season.
A heartfelt thank you to Kara for generously putting this together for our community. Her care and thoughtfulness have made it a beautiful companion for Lent.
Borrow this Prayer
from Every Season Sacred
God of dirt and dust, we come to You and sit in the midst of Your mystery.
There is much we do not understand about the world and You, the One who made it.
We cannot pretend to comprehend life and death.
Instead, we marvel at Your great love—a Love that breathed into dirt and dust, and formed us, body and soul. You even became human Yourself, taking on the weight of our humanity.
We come to You aware of the times we have pushed away, neglected, or ignored our need for You.
We find comfort in Your loving presence, even when we have shut You out and refused to acknowledge our lack and our need.
We are fully human—we know this full well.
“God of the Dust, we praise you for being a Maker who is capable of dreaming up glory from dirt. As we journey through this Lenten season, help us to remember our origin story and find ourselves deeply grounded in bodies made from the lowest part of creation, yet alive with gloried breath from the divine.”
Pray This With Your Kids for Ash Wednesday
From page 168 of Every Season Sacred
Dear God, Your great love is a mystery.
We know we don’t have to have all the answers about death and life because You are with us in all things, and You are making all things new.
Help us to have the imagination to think about what it must have been like when You breathed human beings into life from dust—even us!
Help us to remember that we don’t have to be afraid to talk about death with You.
Make our home a safe place to share our wonderings with one another too.
We know that no matter what happens, You won’t leave us.
You are good, and we can trust You.
Be with us when we’re sad, scared, or confused.
We know that You love us so much that You came to earth to be human, too.
We love you, God, and we know You love us infinitely more.
Amen.
Further Reading
“A Prayer for Ash Wednesday” on pages 146-147 of my book To Light Their Way.
“Circle of Life” chapter on pages 164-168 of my book Every Season Sacred. (Contains a reflection, breath prayer, Scripture, family connection questions, and two family prayers to share.)
All those days
you felt like dust,
like dirt,
as if all you had to do
was turn your face
toward the wind
and be scattered
to the four corners
or swept away
by the smallest breath
as insubstantial—
did you not know
what the Holy One
can do with dust?
Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace
A Prayer for Ash Wednesday
O Lord, we are so aware of our humanity,
And yet we’ve tried to hide it,
Covering our bruised and bloodied hearts
With self-reliance
And self-sufficiency,
Covering ourselves with
The leaves of false confidence.
But Lord, under it all,
As we raise our families
And lie awake wondering
What will become of them
And of us,
We sense our need for mercy and grace.
O Lord, as we mark this day,
We ask that You would cleanse our hearts.
Free us from our past
And prepare us for the future.
Thank You for Your infinite love
That knows no limits,
That gently guides us and has compassion
For the ways we are like little children.
Merciful God, You know the depths of our humanity
And lavish the knowing love
And understanding of a parent.
Thank You for being faithful to me
And for cleansing my heart again and again
So that I may raise my children
To know the depths of what it is to be
Fully aware of their humanity
And fully known and held
By Your forgiveness and faithfulness.
Help us not hide from our humanity.
Instead, remind us that we are but dust
And to dust we will return.
Amen.
The above prayer is an adapted excerpt from “A Prayer for Ash Wednesday,” which can be found on page 146 of my book To Light Their Way, a collection of modern prayers and liturgies.
Breath Prayer
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