Celebrating Death and Life

I've had my birthday fall on holidays before. President's Day is the usual one and it was always nice when that happened when I was in public school because it meant I got the day off. There was one year in college when it fell on Case Day (when a bunch of crazy college students try to drink a case of beer per individual in a 24 hour period) which provided great entertainment (all of my roommates had passed out by the time I was heading down to the bar and I didn't even get buzzed). Today my birthday fell on a different type of holiday, Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday is, in effect, the opposite of celebrating a birthday. It is the first day of Lent, a season of prayer, fasting, and repentance leading up to Easter. Ash Wednesday is the day that reminds us of our morality, our sin, and our need for a savior. Ashes, symbolizing our death, are used to mark our foreheads in the shape of a cross. As the ashes are placed on the forehead, we are told to "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Yeah, that's a far cry from the usual cheerful and obnoxious chorus of "happy birthday to you."

I find myself celebrating these two days that are held in paradox: the first day of my life and my last. And it's not as weird as it could be. Somehow it seems fitting that the start of this Lenten journey starts with my birthday. I remember hearing the phrase "as soon as you're born you start dying." However, in the midst of all of this, it is important to keep in mind what we are working toward, to keep in mind where the journey ends. The Lenten journey doesn't just end with Jesus' death on the cross, it ends with his resurrection from the dead. And I find myself reminded on this first day of Lent not only of my birth and my death but also of the rebirth that I will experience through the eternal life I have been promised through Jesus Christ. So even though it may seem morbid to remember my death on my birthday, it has served as an amazing reminder of all the gifts that I have been given in my life, the most important of those being the love of God.