Ash Wednesday: grateful for dust and ashes

I'm trying to keep Lent simple. Am I giving anything up? That's private. Am I taking anything on? That's my business - but I will share one thing I intend to do during Lent - try to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. To help me I will look out something each day to be thankful for, however insignificant. Once I've noticed it I will tell you about it here. 

Today I am grateful for dust and ashes. Does that sound weird? And why have I chosen an image of an Alexander rose to illustrate this post? Well, it reminds me that after his cremation my father's ashes were strewn in the rose garden of the crematorium grounds. So when his body was of no further use to him, an Alexander, it was used to grow beautiful roses. And in our garden today sit the ashes of our last bonfire. Later I will spread these around the flower beds, to help condition the soil and nourish new life. In God's economy nothing is ever wasted and the most surprising new life can spring from the most unlikely situations. I'm grateful for all of that.

And I'm grateful to some really helpful posts about Ash Wednesday from other bloggers. I recommend these:

Ash Wednesday 2013 by Digitalnun
Remember that you are dust by Rosemary Hannah
A Reflection for Ash Wednesday 2013 by Christine Sine

Have a grateful Ash Wednesday if you can.

Image Credit: lozwilkes on Flickr, CC License