Being less than 3 months into a new call at Lord of the Valley in Granby, I don't know people's routines and schedules here in Grand County, but since daylight ended early on Ash Wednesday I decided to offer time throughout the afternoon for people to drop in at the church and receive ashes with a prayer and blessing. A family with three young children came by, and as they came in, the mom "warned me" that their oldest (probably about 10 years old) had a lot of questions. So we sat in a circle in the front of the sanctuary, and his questions came tumbling out of his mouth, but of course the most important questions were about the significance of the day: 

Why do we put ashes on our heads?  

Why would God let us die? 

Having worked with children for over 30 years and having raised two of my own, my preference is usually not to dance around an issue with euphemisms, but since I wasn't familiar with the child or his family, I decided not to start by talking about death as the first thing I said to him. I asked him if he remembered the fires that spread through the valley almost 6 years ago. He thought for a moment, then his mom said, "We live on the Troublesome Ranch, where the East Troublesome Fire of 2020 started." As she said that, the boy's eyes lit up as he remembered the fire.  

What he said next reflects the wonder of children who are more comfortable with mystery than most "rational adults." He said, "We walk through the area that was burned all the time, and it's more beautiful than it was before the fire. I think that's what it's like to die. It's hard at first, but it's going to be more beautiful when we live again." Sermon. Done. This child understood Ash Wednesday more than he knew.  

I marked his forehead with an ash cross, followed by his younger brother and sister, mom and grandma. "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Receive these ashes as a sign and a reminder that you belong to Christ. God has created you and claimed you, so through any hardship - even death - you are a beautiful and beloved child of God."